OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? A Sea-Dwelling Bacteria Could Make That Possible.

From	a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups	rec.arts.sf.written, alt.books.arthur-clarke, alt.fan.heinlein
Subject	OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? A Sea-Dwelling Bacteria Could Make That Possible.
Date	2018-06-18 10:03 -0700
Organization	NewsGuy.com
Message-ID	<pg8olt02mu8@news1.newsguy.com> (permalink)

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

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from
https://futurism.com/cyanobacteria-oxygen-mars/

Want to Breathe on Mars? A Sea-Dwelling Bacteria Could Make That Possible.
  NASA/Matthewjparker/Victor Tangermann
by Kristin Houser	June 17, 2018 Off World
Forget constructing cool Martian habitats, growing food, or digging 
tunnels. If we can’t figure out a way to breathe on Mars, what’s the 
point of all of our colonization plans?

Now, we may have a new hope in the hunt for a steady supply of oxygen on 
the Red Planet: cyanobacteria. This family of bacteria sucks up carbon 
dioxide and discharges oxygen in some of Earth’s most inhospitable 
environments. On Friday, a team of researchers published a new study in 
the journal Science linking the tiny organisms to the possibility of 
human life on Mars.

Remember photosynthesis? It’s how plants and other organisms convert 
sunlight into energy. Cyanobacteria also use photosynthesis to produce 
energy, but they’re able to do so in conditions with far less sunlight 
than what you need to grow your tomato plants. In fact, scientists have 
found cyanobacteria thriving in the deepest trenches in the ocean.

A key part of the photosynthesis process is the chemical chlorophyll. 
Most plants and organisms convert visible light into energy using 
chlorophyll-a. The researchers figured out that cyanobacteria use a 
special kind of chlorophyll, chlorophyll-f, to convert far-red/near 
infrared light into energy. This is how they’re able to live in such 
low-light environments.

“This work redefines the minimum energy needed in light to drive 
photosynthesis,” study co-author Jennifer Morton said in a news release. 
“This type of photosynthesis may well be happening in your garden, under 
a rock.”

The upshot: we can send cyanobacteria to Mars to produce oxygen for 
colonists in the future, the researchers note. We’ve already found the 
organisms living in the Mojave Desert, Antarctica, and even on the 
exterior of the International Space Station (ISS), so they seem 
well-equipped to survive the harsh conditions of our planetary neighbor.

“This might sound like science fiction, but space agencies and private 
companies around the world are actively trying to turn this aspiration 
into reality in the not-too-distant future,” said study co-author Elmars 
Krausz in the press release. “Photosynthesis could theoretically be 
harnessed with these types of organisms to create air for humans to 
breathe on Mars.”

Now that we have a solid lead on a source of extraterrestrial oxygen, go 
ahead and start mentally constructing that Martian habitat of your 
dreams. You might not be able to actually live in it for another couple 
of decades, but at least you’ll likely be able to breathe once you move in.

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OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? A Sea-Dwelling Bacteria Could Make That Possible. a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-18 10:03 -0700
  Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-18 10:15 -0700
    Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2018-06-19 19:10 -0400
      Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-06-19 16:17 -0700
      Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2018-06-19 19:19 -0500
        Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-20 00:46 +0000
          Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2018-06-19 20:48 -0500
            Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-19 19:26 -0700
              Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2018-06-19 21:31 -0500
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-19 20:37 -0700
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Juho Julkunen <giaotanj@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-20 13:34 +0300
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Chris Zakes <dontivar@gmail.com> - 2018-06-22 19:58 -0500
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2018-06-22 20:00 -0500
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-22 21:26 -0700
          Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2018-06-19 20:00 -0700
            Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2018-06-19 23:31 -0400
              Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican hamish.laws@gmail.com - 2018-06-19 21:22 -0700
      Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2018-06-20 00:03 +0000
        Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from ScientificAmerican a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2018-06-20 11:50 -0700
          Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-20 20:33 +0000
            Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-20 13:48 -0700
              Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-20 23:00 +0000
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2018-06-21 12:14 -0700
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American D B Davis <g@crcomp.net> - 2018-06-21 20:05 +0000
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-22 08:51 -0600
              Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2018-06-22 08:50 -0600
                Re: OT proposed - Want to Breathe on Mars? - Bacteria - from Scientific American Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2018-06-22 12:14 -0700

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