The Air is not that Gross

We all know that microbes practically live everywhere, and some of us occasionally wonder about the microbes we breathe in found in the atmosphere. Humans are naturally curious and with the surge of technology we are better able to answer our questions. In the past we thought that the air was rather clean, well microbe free for the most part. We couldn’t have been more wrong, recent discoveries and studies show that the air above our cities and blowing in from our coast is teaming with microbial organisms, and some of which are capable of some serious damage if not detected beforehand. The argument in the article I’m blogging about tonight is trying to persuade the reader to understand that, yes there are microbes in the air, and yes some of the microbes are dangerous and some microbes might be evidence of a bioattack, but we sure generally not be worried because there are far more microbes in the environment around us then just in the air.

 http://www.goductpro.com/images/microbes.gif

The Researchers performed tests over several cities and found that a lot of microbes found in soil and in the ocean made their way into to atmosphere. This is not that much a surprise though because microbes are picked up in the dirt that blows over from the Sahara Desert and from participation of the ocean surface. Majority of the microbes detected were harmless but occasionally the Researcher’s did pick up a few nasty bugs that have the capability of destroying plants and diminishing human health. The argument used a strong sense of ethos and pathos to convince the reader that there is no need to panic over microbes in the air. 

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microbe-census-reveals-ai/

Microbes and Snow

Do you enjoy winter sports? Well you can thank microbes for that; they play a significant role in the formation of snowflakes. Microbes, bacteria mostly are added to snowmakers at ski resorts because they have a protein cell wall that when they all come together forms a geometric patterns the allow snow creation in warmer conditions. Microbiologist Brent Christner at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge has collected microbial samples from in 19 different mountains, including Bozeman, Mont., the French Alps, Ross Island in Antarctica and a glacier in the Yukon's Wheaton River Valley. Christner found that places isolated from the public had fewer microbes.  He added heat to his samples and discovered that they could no longer aid in the formation of ice. Theoretically this means that these microbes must basically lose the ability to do this job when exposed to dust in the atmosphere. Christner, however does not think that this is sufficient evidence to prove that these microbes originated in the clouds. These microbes could have picked up during precipitation according to Christner. 

I found Christner’s argument to be understandable and to the point. He performed the experiments, ran the tests and came up with the best logical conclusion: Microbes that live in the clouds would eventually come into contact with dust particles there for stripping them of their protein cell wall disabling them from aiding in ice formation. Christner is appealing to logic and authority in his argument. Science is like a big puzzle and men like Chritner are just trying to fit the pieces together.

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-microbes-make-snow/

Microbial Aliens

     The article I chose to blog about gave a very interesting argument that live on other planets like Mars and Venus probably dwell deep beneath the surface. Half a mile deep in a South African goldmine newly discovered microbes were found in pools of water heated by decaying uranium and thorium. Testing reports showed that the new ecosystem has flourished for the last 20 million years. These newly discovered microbes use hydrogen and are sulfate reducers that closely resemble Desulfotomaculum kuznetsovii that are found near vents on the ocean floor. This new species does not rely on the sun and receive all their resources from inorganic processes. Scientist claim that the micro organism has a 45 to 300 day doubling period dubbing species very inactive.

http://www.standardsingenomics.org/index.php/sigen/article/viewFile/362/882/7701

     I found the argument to be very convincing. The writer used Ethos and Logos to convey his argument in a very straight forward manner. The evidence presented offers a clear cut example that life is able to flourish underground for millions maybe even billions of years. The Mars rover has been looking for life on the surface of Mars for awhile now. This new discovery suggests that maybe we are looking in the wrong place and we should rethink our approach at searching for live beyond our planet. Microbes are truly one of the most resilient and sufficient organisms we know of and this article just goes to show that as we discover more about our own planet we in turn are better able to understand the planets that surround us.    

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/et-may-be-a-microbe-life/

Origins of Life

In the early twentieth century a Russian Chemist A.I. Oparin and English Geneticist J.B.S. Haldane first announced the idea of the Primordial Soup Theory. The theory basically claims that life began in a lake or ocean at least 3.8 billion years ago with the help of the chemicals found in the atmosphere. Scientists believe that rain and lightning was a major catalyst: providing the energy needed to transform the simple molecules from the atmosphere into nature’s seed that would eventually develop into every species on our planet.

Scientists provide this evidence to back their claims. First organisms brought to life by lightning must have been simple heterotrophs, creatures that consumed other creatures to survive. However, these ancient microbial life forms would have eventually developed the means of photosynthesis and mutate into autotrophs. In 1950 a famous experiment took place where chemist Stanley Miller and physicist Harold Urey mixed gases thought to be present on a young earth. The scientists tested the theory by simulating lightning by electrically sparking the mixture of methane, ammonia, water, and hydrogen. The results produced amino acids, the start of protein.

I think that this is very possible if not probable. However, since there is no way of really knowing this theory must remain a theory, but it is likely to be true. This idea really makes me think that the universe must be teaming with life. The billions upon billions of chances of this simple natural process happening, but we make life off of our planet seem like fantasy.  

 http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2010/02/03/PrimordialSoupPPR.jpg

 http://www.livescience.com/18565-life-building-blocks-chemical-evolution.html