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Microbes Thrive In The Gulf of Mexico Due To Natural Oil Spill

January 26, 2016 By Capital Berg Team

"natural oil spill"

It seems that microbes thrive in the Gulf of Mexico due to natural oil spill that occurs in the waters and might actually encourage growth of the bacteria. There is a good side to oil where it concerns marine life. However, as it is in all things, moderation is key.

Researchers from the University of Columbia and University of Florida studied the effects of natural oil in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly the microbes known as phytoplankton. It’s an invaluable source of food for numerous animals within the waters. Many depend on its existence, ranging from shrimps even to whales.

Not just surviving with the oil, but thriving

Lead author of the study, Nigel D’Souza from the University of Columbia, made the discovery while studying cholorophyll fluorescence in phytoplankton cells. While travelling by ship, he noted that the population of phytoplankton was much higher in areas with known natural oil spills. In fact, water samples, phytoplankton study, and satellite images confirmed his theory. The microbes were not only surviving with the natural oil spill, but actually thriving.

D’Souza observed that the population of phytoplankton was twice higher in areas dominated by natural oil spills than regions a mile away. That led to their research which found benefits in the existence of the sleek liquid within the gulf’s waters. However, Ajit Subramaniam, an oceanographer from the university’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, underlined the fact that natural oil per se is not good for the phytoplankton. However, the nutrients it provides in the spilling process are.

The microbes are being fed by the nutrients brought up by the oil bubbles and natural gases that appear with the presence of natural oil. It helps the microbes thrive. According to Subramaniam, this is the first evidence ever discovered that there are some microbes in the Gulf of Mexico who are pre-conditioned to survive with oil. At the very least, in low concentrations.

In this case, they have observed that the phytoplankton, placed crucially at the base of the marine food chain, is not suffering the negative impact of natural oil. However, that does not mean that all types and amount of oil spill will be beneficial. The Deepwater Horizon spill back in 2010, for example. Huge amounts of oil seeping into the ocean is certainly not beneficial for the marine life.

Just the right amount

In the unfortunate accident, around 4.3 million barrels of oil slipped into the Gulf of Mexico. Natural oil, on the other hand, seeps between 160,000 and 600,000 barrels each year. That spill is also spread over time, so it’s not all seeping into the waters at the same time. It covers up to 62 square miles (100 km2) which can disappear in just a week. That was not the case for the Deepwater Horizon spill. It was too much and too quick to be beneficial.

So, there are parts of natural oil spills, specifically the nutrients brought up by bubbles and gases, that feed the phytoplankton and double their population in concentration. However, too much and the negative effects will start to show.

Researchers now plan on conducting further study to see if all types of phytoplankton react the same way to natural oil.

Image source: nasa.gov

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: deep water horizon, deep water horizon oil spill, deepwater horizon, gulf of mexico, gulf oil, microbe, Microbes, microbial life, natural oil, oil, oil in the gulf, oil spills, phytoplankton, thriving microbes

Curiosity Rover Photos Unveil Possible Indications Of Martian Life On Mars

January 8, 2015 By Denise Ehrlich

possible-signs-of-ancient-life-on-Mars

Proof that Mars once harbored alien life keeps on mounting.

Weeks after NASA’s Curiosity wanderer spotted spikes of methane in the Martian environment -conceivable confirmation of biological activity -a famous geo-biologist says she sees possible indications of past life in photographs of the Martian land taken by the wanderer.

“We can spot sedimentary structures in rocks on Mars utilizing the wanderer pictures,” Dr. Nora Noffke, a associate professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., told The Huffington Post in an email. “The structures I depict fit in with a group of microbial structures that shape by the cooperation of benthic (living on the ground) organisms with dregs dynamics (erosion) in clastic deposits, for example, sand.”

As such, if such structures do exist on Mars that recommends the planet may have once harbored microbial life. The organisms would have existed on Mars about 3.7 billion years back, Noffke said.

For her study, Noffke examined the structures seen in rocks on Mars and contrasted them with biological structures on Earth that are shaped by microorganisms living in groups called microbial mats.

“Mats are made of trillions and trillions of microorganisms that pile up on the floor of lakes, streams, seas,” Noffke said in the email. “The microorganisms communicate with one another; they pose into a thick layer and team up in picking up nutrients and light.”

In the research, Noffke outlined the similarities found between the structures on Earth and Mars:

“The microbially induced sedimentary-like structures (MISS) spotted in Curiosity wanderer mission pictures don’t have a haphazard distribution. Instead, they were discovered to be arranged in spatial affiliations and fleeting sequences that demonstrate they changed eventually. On Earth, if such MISS happened with this kind of spatial affiliation and fleeting sequence, they would be considered as having recorded the growth of a microbially commanded environment that flourished in pools that later dried totally.”

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: 3.7 billion years, Dr. Nora Noffke, Martian Life, Microbes, microbially induced sedimentary-like structures, Microorganisms, MISS, nasa, rover photos

Algae Virus Can Alter the Cognitive Functions

November 12, 2014 By Andreas Petersen

Algae virus affects mental abilities

A recent study disclosed that people with an algae virus experience difficulty in certain cognitive exercises.

The paper revealed that around 92 percent of people with algae virus failed to perform even a simple mental. This decrease in mental abilities can give birth to several minor brain problems such as lower IQ level and less attention span.

Researchers carried out an experiment on mice in order to figure out the influence of ATCV-1 or Acanthocystis turface Chlorella virus 1 on brain. They injected the particular virus in the bodies of mice.  Afterwards, they put the mice in a maze to check the impact of ATCV-1. Surprisingly, mice faced a great difficulty in finding their way out of that maze. The virus badly affected the vision of mice as they were unable to see objects around them.

Later on, the study unveils that algae virus affect the cognitive functions of brain such as spatial awareness and visual processing. However, experts are still unable to find the cause and effect between the intelligence results and virus.

Robert Yolken, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University informed that it is certainly pretty early to say that the virus is hazardous for individuals or public.

The researchers came across this virus when they examined the microbes in the throats of a healthy human being.

The report is printed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Acanthocystis turface Chlorella virus 1, cognitive abilities, Johns Hopkins University, mice experiment, Microbes, Proceeding of the National Academy of Science, visual processing

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