Bacteria use life's original energy source to thrive in the ocean's lightless depths

By Chris Greening, Professor, Microbiology, Monash University
Rachael Lappan, Group Leader and ARC DECRA Fellow, Monash University
Zahra F. Islam, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Melbourne

There are more than a billion bacteria in just one litre of seawater. How do all of these organisms find the energy and nutrients they need to survive?

In the nutrient-rich waters near the surface of the ocean, the primary energy source is sunlight, which drives photosynthesis, the transformation of light energy into chemical energy. In much of the open ocean, however, a lack of nutrients limits photosynthesis, and in the deep ocean it ceases altogether as there is no sunlight.

Despite this,…

Read complete article

~	UN expert raises alarm over unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian student protesters in US

~	Germany: British-Palestinian Doctor Denied Schengen Entry

~	Love is the driving force behind the cries, the marches and the search for our disappeared loved ones

~	A jacket, a coin, a letter − relics of Omaha Beach battle tell the story of D-Day 80 years later

~	Lassa fever case in Paris: what you need to know

~	Mexico’s criminal gangs stir up political violence ahead of election season

~	AI system can predict the structures of life’s molecules with stunning accuracy – helping to solve one of biology’s biggest problems

~	I’ve spent decades overseeing relief operations around the world, and here’s what’s going wrong in Gaza

~	National Gallery 200: Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo’s Mary Magdalene is a powerful piece of storytelling

~	Did a worm really eat part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s brain?