360bank: Three new species of bacteria, which are not found on Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation-are now on earth, in India.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Three new species of bacteria, which are not found on Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation-are now on earth, in India.

Does this bother anyone else? Scares me.

http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Mar16_2009.htm

Three new species of bacteria, which are not found on Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation, have been discovered in the upper stratosphere by Indian scientists. One of the new species has been named as Janibacter hoylei, after the Distinguished Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, the second as Bacillus isronensis recognising the contribution of ISRO in the balloon experiments which led to its discovery and the third as Bacillus aryabhata after India’s celebrated ancient astronomer Aryabhata and also the first satellite of ISRO.

These

cylinders after collecting air samples from different heights ranging

from 20 to 41 km were parachuted down and safely retrieved, it said."

Here's the Indian Space Research Organisation's [2]press release on the

discovery. Adds an anonymous reader: "This [3]paper in International

Journal of Astrobiology [PDF] speculates how microorganisms reach the

stratosphere."

Discuss this story at:

http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/03/17/1234227

Links:

0. http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/421CC27DDF3039A76525757B004C4F22?OpenDocument

1. http://www.livemint.com/2009/03/16225513/Indian-scientists-find-3-UVre.html