Can you think of a place on Earth where there is free water but no microbes? (A sterile flask of nutrient broth in a lab or an IV bag in a hospital don't count.)
Moselio Schaechter
- The purpose of this blog is to share my appreciation for the width and depth of the microbial activities on this planet. I will emphasize the unusual and the unexpected phenomena for which I have a special fascination... (more)
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- On the first day of February, 2007, I Googled "Euplotidium." One of the top hits was Small Things Considered: Ciliate 007. One click and I landed on Elio's blog. I never left...(more)
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« A query on what is a bacterial species | Main | Fossil Caviar or Giant Bacteria? »
March 02, 2007
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Amanda,
We meant to stipulate "other than in tissues of animals and plants not in contact with the environment" but omitted that. No matter, thanks for the comment.
Elio
Posted by: Elio Schaechter | September 23, 2008 at 08:49 AM
What about the normal vitreous humor of an eye?
Posted by: Amanda | September 23, 2008 at 08:42 AM
Lisa,
The geode idea is very appealing. I would have thought that someone has looked but I can't find a reference. Bacteria probably participate in geode formation, so some may be entrapped within. Are you in a position to look yourself?
Elio
Posted by: elio | September 08, 2008 at 11:31 AM
What about the water that is trapped inside some geodes or the fluid inclusions in some minerals? Or would those not meet the definition of "free" water?
Posted by: Lisa | September 08, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Cathy,
Not likely. See the paper on the bacteria in snow. It's at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18309078?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
If in snow, why not in raindrops?
Elio
Posted by: elio | August 28, 2008 at 03:39 PM
Raindrops
Posted by: Cathy | August 28, 2008 at 03:22 PM
Sure. About 3 billion human bladders. And those of all those other mammals that have 'em. And, I suppose, a lot of blood systems, and other organs.
Posted by: stan zahler | March 02, 2007 at 10:18 PM
I don't remember if we have yet drilled down into some of the water reservoirs under the Antarctic ice to see if there are microbes there, but maybe that's a possibility. (If there are microbes there, I wonder what the nutrient source is?). And I read today about an "underground sea" approximately the size of the Arctic Ocean that was just detected deep under eastern Asia. I wonder if microbes are there?
Posted by: Samantha | March 02, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Perhaps there are some volcanic acid-brine lakes sufficiently acidic or salty to defeat even the most hardy halophiles and acidophiles?
Posted by: Jonathan Badger | March 02, 2007 at 09:54 AM