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Polar Bugs In Your Backyard
Ontario, Canada (SPX) Oct 09, 2006 To study the bacteria which survive in extreme cold, scientists no longer have to go to extreme environments, such as Antarctic lakes and glaciers. Bacteria previously isolated from polar climates, and have properties which allow them to survive in extreme cold, have been isolated from soil in temperate environments. Professor Virginia Walker and her colleagues at Queen's University, Canada, have developed a technique to isolate bacteria which have properties to interact with, and modify, ice. This technique involved the formation of an 'ice finger' (or lolly) to select for bacteria which will adsorb to ice. These bacteria were then cultured and identified using their DNA. The bacteria can modify ice and water in a number of ways. One of the species identified, Chryseobacterium sp., demonstrated Ice Recrystallisation Inhibition (IRI), a property that can be exploited in the production of ice-cream to prevent it from recrystallising and becoming 'crunchy'. Other species isolated in this study promote the formation of ice crystals at temperatures close to melting, a property which is useful in the production of artificial snow. Pseudomonas borealis is one species which is not only ice-forming, it is also thought to be tolerant to cold and could therefore have advantages for snow-making in artificial environments such as ski centres and in waste-water purification. "Selecting for rare microbes that seem to stick to ice has been fun, but now the real work begins to find out what genes are responsible for this attraction" Said Professor Walker. These findings will decrease the costs involved in the further study of such bacteria and their properties, as scientists will no longer need expeditions to the poles in order to isolate the bugs; they can find them in their own backyards. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Blackwell Publishing Queen's University, Canada Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com Beyond the Ice Age Beyond the Ice Age
Canada Fires Ambassador To Arctic Council
Ottawa (AFP) Oct 04, 2006Ottawa dismissed its ambassador to the world's main circumpolar council, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Wednesday, putting efforts to bolster its claims to vast Arctic territories in doubt. Arctic Council envoy Jack Anawak was fired last month and his job was eliminated. |
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