Thermophilic microbial inhabitants of active seafloor and continental hot springs populate the deepest branches of the universal phylogenetic tree, making hydrothermal ecosystems the most ancient continuously inhabited ecosystems on Earth. Geochemical consequences of hot water-rock interactions render these environments habitable and supply a diverse array of energy sources. Clues to the strate...

Background Thermophilic microorganisms and their enzymes offer several advantages for industrial application over their mesophilic counterparts. For example, a hyperthermophilic anaerobe, Caldicellulosiruptor bescii, was recently isolated from hot springs in Kamchatka, Siberia, and shown to have very high cellulolytic activity. Additionally, it is one of a few microorganisms being considered as...

Mycobacterium parascrofulaceum was found in Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in a system composed of two acidic (pH 3.0) springs with temperatures between 56 degrees C at the source and 40 degrees C at the confluence of both springs. Growth and survival assays at 56 degrees C for 60 days were performed, confirming the origin of the strain.

Anoxybacillus thermarum AF/04(T) was isolated from the Euganean hot springs in Abano Terme, Italy. The present work reports a high-quality draft genome sequence of strain AF/04(T). This work also provides useful insights into glycoside hydrolases, glycoside transferases, and sugar transporters that may be involved in cellular carbohydrate metabolism.

In Japan, hot springs and public baths are the major sources of legionellosis. In 2015, an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease occurred among 7 patients who had visited a spa house. Laboratory investigation indicated that L. pneumophila serogroup 1 and 13 strains caused the outbreak and that these strains were genetically related.

Geothermal soils near Amphitheater Springs in Yellowstone National Park were characterized by high temperatures (up to 70 degrees C), high heavy metal content, low pH values (down to pH 2.7), sparse vegetation, and limited organic carbon. From these soils we cultured 16 fungal species. Two of these species were thermophilic, and six were thermotolerant. We cultured only three of these species f...

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs) are membrane-spanning lipids that likely stabilize membranes of some bacteria. Although bGDGTs have been reported previously in certain geothermal environments, it has been suggested that they may derive from surrounding soils since bGDGTs are known to be produced by soil bacteria. To test the hypothesis that bGDGTs can be produced by ther...

We construct self-similar functions and linear operators to deduce a self-similar variant of the Laplacian operator and of the D'Alembertian wave operator. The exigence of self-similarity as a symmetry property requires the introduction of nonlocal particle-particle interactions. We derive a self-similar linear wave operator describing the dynamics of a quasicontinuous linear chain of infinite ...

In number 73 of Local Population Studies, Chris Galley discussed the sharp secular decline in infant mortality that commenced ‘at or around 19001 ... almost simultaneously in every English and Welsh Registration District’,2 and the role played in it by social intervention, especially through the appointment of health visitors. He concluded that ‘social intervention by itself was not responsible...

Earthworms were collected in forests, damp habitats, springs, orchards and agricultural fields of the Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmad Province, Iran, from April 2009 to April 2010. Specimens were collected at 20 established stations by digging and by diluted formalin methods. Ten species belonging to family Lumbricidae were identified based on morphology: Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826), Ap. r...