{"id":199886,"date":"2021-03-11T16:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/do-space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste\/"},"modified":"2021-03-11T16:00:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T13:00:21","slug":"do-space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"#Do space microbes like radioactive waste?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bb7a87e86\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bb7a87e86\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste\/#Your_name_is_mud_Dont_worry_%E2%80%94_its_a_good_thing\" >Your name is mud. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 it\u2019s a good thing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste\/#Waterworld_is_not_as_bad_as_you_remember\" >Waterworld is not as bad as you remember<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Do space microbes like radioactive waste?<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"7e42\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Microbes living beneath the seafloor feed largely on the products of radioactive decay, aided by sediment of the seafloor, a new study reveals. This finding radically changes how we look at life processes in one of the largest ecosystems on our planet. It could also alter our views of how life may have evolved on Mars or other alien worlds.<\/p>\n<p id=\"c7a4\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Typically, it was believed that organic material was the primary source of energy for<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/thecosmiccompanion.net\/martian-soil-and-the-microbes-that-love-them\/\">microbes<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>living far beneath the oceans. However, most organic matter is consumed on the seafloor, or just beneath it. Researchers were able to determine that radiolysis (the breakdown of water by radiation) is the principal source of energy for these aquatic beings in sediment more than a few million years old.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5740\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201cThis work provides an important new perspective on the availability of resources that subsurface microbial communities can use to sustain themselves. This is fundamental to understand life on Earth and to constrain the habitability of other planetary bodies, such as Mars,\u201d explains<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/today.uri.edu\/news\/uri-researchers-microbes-deep-beneath-seafloor-survive-on-byproducts-of-radioactive-process\/\">Justine Sauvage<\/a>, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Gothenburg who conducted the research as a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island (URI).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>[Read:\u00a0<\/i><span class=\"s1\"><i>How do you build a pet-friendly gadget? We asked experts and animal owners<\/i><\/span><i>]<\/i><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"cff1\" class=\"ja jb dt ce jc jd je jf jg jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Your_name_is_mud_Dont_worry_%E2%80%94_its_a_good_thing\"><\/span>Your name is mud. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 it\u2019s a good thing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"jy jz ka\">\n<p id=\"20f6\" class=\"gy gz hx ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201c<em class=\"dt\">Welcome to the new age, to the new age<br \/>Whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh\u2026 Whoa-oh-oh-oh<br \/>I\u2019m radioactive, radioactive<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Radioactive<em class=\"dt\">, Imagine Dragons<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"5e17\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Water molecules, as most people know, are composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Nature, like middle school <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> students, can break<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-cosmic-companion\/dawn-finds-dwarf-planet-ceres-is-a-water-rich-world-71ba20c1e65d?source=friends_link&amp;sk=506e7e8503224526f70830c63c69ed1e\">water<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>molecules into their component parts. They can also be split by naturally-occurring radiation, in a process called<span>\u00a0<\/span><em class=\"hx\">radiolysis<\/em>, providing a source of energy for microbes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"hz ia ib ic id ie db kc gh kd ke kf kg kh az ki kj kk kl km kn paragraph-image\">\n<div class=\"cx cy kb\">\n<div class=\"io s ew ip\">\n<div class=\"ko ir s\">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"uf vb t u v il aj c lazy\" sizes=\"auto, 450px\" alt=\"Image for post\" width=\"450\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/900\/1*oXaOizj6AMeJUaLFjlpHaQ.jpeg\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/552\/1*oXaOizj6AMeJUaLFjlpHaQ.jpeg 276w, https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/900\/1*oXaOizj6AMeJUaLFjlpHaQ.jpeg 450w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/03\/11\/space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fspace%2F2021%2F03%2F11%2Fspace-microbes-like-radioactive-waste-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Samples of marine sediment used in the irradiation experiments. Image credit: Justine Sauvage\" data-title=\"Share Samples of marine sediment used in the irradiation experiments. Image credit: Justine Sauvage on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Samples of marine sediment used in the irradiation experiments. Image credit: Justine Sauvage on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Samples of marine sediment used in the irradiation experiments. Image credit: Justine Sauvage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"234f\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">This new study shows that sediment on the seafloor can raise the production of<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/thecosmiccompanion.net\/is-the-galactic-missing-matter-mystery-solved\/\">hydrogen<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>and oxidants by up to 30 times compared to typical production in pure water.<\/p>\n<p id=\"76c1\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201cThe marine sediment actually amplifies the production of these usable chemicals. If you have the same amount of irradiation in pure water and in wet sediment, you get a lot more hydrogen from wet sediment. The sediment makes the production of hydrogen much more effective,\u201d Steven D\u2019Hondt, professor of oceanography at URL explains.<\/p>\n<p id=\"cede\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Why marine sediment has this effect on radiolysis remains a question. However, D\u2019Hondt speculates that minerals within the sediment may behave like a semiconductor, increasing production of the products of this molecular breakdown.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3645\" class=\"ja jb dt ce jc jd je jf jg jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Waterworld_is_not_as_bad_as_you_remember\"><\/span>Waterworld is not as bad as you remember<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"hz ia ib ic id ie db kc gh kd ke kf kg kh az ki kj kk kl km kn paragraph-image\">\n<div class=\"cx cy kp\">\n<div class=\"io s ew ip\">\n<div class=\"kq ir s\">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"uf vb t u v il aj c lazy\" sizes=\"auto, 378px\" alt=\"Image for post\" width=\"378\" height=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/756\/1*uD0Kou-YW8aOwLwAglWGCw.jpeg\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/552\/1*uD0Kou-YW8aOwLwAglWGCw.jpeg 276w, https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/756\/1*uD0Kou-YW8aOwLwAglWGCw.jpeg 378w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/03\/11\/space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fspace%2F2021%2F03%2F11%2Fspace-microbes-like-radioactive-waste-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Justine Sauvage seen conducting research. Image credit: URI\" data-title=\"Share Justine Sauvage seen conducting research. Image credit: URI on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Justine Sauvage seen conducting research. Image credit: URI on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Justine Sauvage seen conducting research. Image credit: URI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"7764\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201cRadiolytic H2 has been identified as the primary electron donor (food) for microorganisms in continental aquifers kilometers below Earth\u2019s surface. Radiolytic products may also be significant for sustaining life in subseafloor sediment and subsurface environments of other planets,\u201d researchers describe in an article detailing the study, published in<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-021-21218-z\"><em class=\"hx\">Nature Communications<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"90e4\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Our solar system \u2014 and galaxy \u2014 are replete with water worlds. This process might also take place on other planets and moons, providing an essential store of energy for alien microbes, researchers suggest.<\/p>\n<p id=\"38ff\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/aLeeSmhW0UY\">Perseverance rover<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>which recently landed on Mars, has a primary mission of collecting samples on Mars to be returned by future missions. Once on Earth, those samples will be intensely studied by researchers around the globe.<\/p>\n<p id=\"0ff8\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201cSome of the same minerals are present on Mars, and as long as you have those wet catalytic minerals, you\u2019re going to have this process. If you can catalyze production of radiolytic chemicals at high rates in the wet Martian subsurface, you could potentially sustain life at the same levels that it\u2019s sustained in marine sediment,\u201d said D\u2019Hondt.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"hz ia ib ic id ie\">\n<div class=\"io s ew\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Interview with Steven D&#039;Hondt - Unv. of Rhode Island - The Cosmic Companion Aug. 11, 2020\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9Q4fDVMPiIY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In the video above, watch our interview with Steven D\u2019Hondt on his work discovering a 100 <span style=\"background-color: rgba(46, 146, 255, 0.2);\">million-year-old<\/span>\u00a0colony of marine organisms. (Video credit: The Cosmic Companion)<\/p>\n<p id=\"1def\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/thecosmiccompanion.net\/the-europa-clipper-and-david-w-brown-author-of-the-mission\/\">Europa<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\u2014 one of the largest moons of Jupiter holds far more water than Earth, making this Jovian moon an exciting stage to study how radiolysis might feed alien microbes on this alien world.<\/p>\n<p id=\"82a9\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">This finding could also have implications for nuclear waste disposal, and nuclear accidents, are handled. Nuclear waste stored in rock or sediment could generate hydrogen and oxidants at a significantly higher rate than the same deposits in pure water. These environments would be far more corrosive on storage systems than previously believed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"9f40\" class=\"gy gz dt ha b hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv dl eq\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The team will continue to study how this process might behave on other planets, including<span>\u00a0<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ck iz\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-cosmic-companion\/perseverance-touches-down-on-mars-413a3066021b?source=friends_link&amp;sk=8c0ca5954b9968457b04c480da6698e3\">Mars<\/a>. Further examination of microbes will help the team better understand how microbes survive and behave when living off the products of the radioactive splitting of water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/03\/11\/space-microbes-like-radioactive-waste-syndication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Do space microbes like radioactive waste?&#8221; Microbes living beneath the seafloor feed largely on the products of radioactive decay, aided by sediment of the seafloor, a new study reveals. This finding radically changes how we look at life processes in one of the largest ecosystems on our planet. It could also alter our views of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/1-copy-18.jpg&signature=db6199cd4bff26e32b24db012735a777","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1501,74503,97303,67907,5019,67821],"class_list":["post-199886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-alien","tag-earth","tag-radioactive-waste","tag-science","tag-space","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}