For the first time, researchers report that Arctic algae can hustle along in -15 C – the lowest-temperature movement ever recorded in complex, living cells.
  • unconsequential@slrpnk.netEnglish
    1·
    2 hours ago

    Love learning about new extremophiles! Just more proof something bizzare could be under the ice of the moon world Europa. It’s been amazing watching us learn about how resilient certain forms of life are.

    But, on a counter note to that, this is so sad to think about…

    “Many of my colleagues are telling me, in the next 25 to 30 years, there will be no Arctic. When ecosystems are lost, we lose knowledge about entire branches in our tree of life,” he said, noting that severe projected budget cuts to the National Science Foundation are predicted to reduce polar research funding by 70 percent. “I feel a sense of urgency in many of these systems, because, at the end of the day, the infrastructure and capacity to be able to operate is critical for discovery.”

    This research is valuable in more ways than one. We’re going to need a lot of information on genes and an intricate understanding of life’s ability to survive under extreme conditions if we keep on our current destructive path as a species. Cutting this sort of research is reckless.