Weird New Forms of Bacterial Life Found in the Dead Sea
35 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Deep in the depths of the Dead Sea, new life has been discovered. Thanks to newly found freshwater springs, certain forms of bacteria thrive, bacteria that, unlike other known freshwater and saltwater bacteria, can cope with rapidly changing salinity. It's the intriguing results of the first study of the Dead Sea in years, a rare undertaking partly because "accidentally swallowing Dead Sea salt water would cause the larynx to inflate, resulting in immediate choking and suffocation."
When the Jordan River's entry into the Dead Sea was cut off in the 1950s to provide more fresh water for Jordan, the sea's main source of fresh water was cut off. Ever since, the Dead Sea has been getting deader and deader, as far more water evaporates than is fed back into it (the sea's water level sinks by about four feet every year). But the high and fluctuating salinity of the Dead Sea leads to all kinds of weird bacterial developments, as in the algae blooms of 1980 and 1992 that turned the sea red. Just this past week, researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev released the results of a study that shows two major findings. First, there are freshwater springs deep in the craters on the floor of the Dead Sea. Second, there are huge mats of thriving bacteria down there--and the researchers have never seen bacteria that can survive in these conditions before. (They're not aliens, though. That'd be crazy.)
More complex animals like fish, amphibians, and marine snakes can't survive in the Dead Sea. But mats of bacteria prokaryotes, mainly in the domain Archaea [note: this was misidentified in previous versions of this article, thanks DNALX], survive in the freshwater-spouting craters. Says National Geographic: "The top of the springs' rocks are covered with green biofilms, which use both sunlight and sulfide—naturally occurring chemicals from the springs—to survive. Exclusively sulfide-eating bacteria coat the bottoms of the rocks in a white biofilm." There's no record of this kind of bacteria ever surviving in this kind of condition--saltwater bacteria of this type can't survive in freshwater, and vice versa, yet here's bacteria that survives in both.
More studies will be undertaken, though it's not an easy place to dive: buoyancy is a major struggle, and the high salinity is extremely dangerous for humans (aside from that whole "inflated larynx leading to immediate choking and death" thing, it also "burns and likely blinds the eyes"). Still, the researchers are planning for another trip in October to further study this bacteria. Check out video of the dive below.
[img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/dead-sea-springs-life-diver_41007_600x450.jpg[/img]
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MHLiobkTUd0[/url][/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-09/weird-new-forms-bacterial-life-found-dead-sea[/url]
Soon to be renamed "The Mostly Dead Sea"
Gah! Diving in the Dead Sea is like swimming in liquid suicidal death!
I accidentally dipped my face once when I was busy being cool and floating around in weird poses and that shit [B]BURNS LIKE HELL[/B]!
Yeah it's no wonder..
Some deep sea life feed off of some methane gases or some shit coming from the Earth's crust in the bottom of the sea.
For some reason I read "dead sea" as space (don't ask I have no idea how). I was quite dissapointed
I've always wanted to go see how far up I float in the dead sea.
[QUOTE=just-a-boy;32544951]"accidentally swallowing Dead Sea salt water would cause the larynx to inflate, resulting in immediate choking and suffocation."[/QUOTE]
Shit, I did not know that, guess that's why it's called the Dead Sea.
i heard the dead sea is good for your skin
Why is the dead sea so toxic? what's in it? I thought it just had a ridiculous amount of salt in it.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;32548485]Why is the dead sea so toxic? what's in it? I thought it just had a ridiculous amount of salt in it.[/QUOTE]
turns out swallowing liquid salt is bad for you
[QUOTE=MightyMax;32548485]Why is the dead sea so toxic? what's in it? I thought it just had a ridiculous amount of salt in it.[/QUOTE]
that's why its toxic
cuz it has so much salinity
[QUOTE=MightyMax;32548485]Why is the dead sea so toxic? what's in it? I thought it just had a ridiculous amount of salt in it.[/QUOTE]
It's so saltly that almost nothing can live in it.
The Sea formally known as The Dead Sea.
You can swim in it and all, but if you were a fish then breathing in that water would be like trying to breathe in the worlds dustiest room.
[editline]29th September 2011[/editline]
There goes my automerge.
[QUOTE=Fire Kracker;32548310]i heard the dead sea is good for your skin[/QUOTE]
You mean cracked and bleeding is good for you?
I've been to the Dead Sea, awesome place. You just lie back and float/drift around, it's pretty cool.
[editline]30th September 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Psychokitten;32549738]You mean cracked and bleeding is good for you?[/QUOTE]
Your skin doesn't crack and bleed, Fire Kracker is right; theres some mud they give out at the dead sea thats found at the bottom thats apparently got some cosmetic properties.
[editline]30th September 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=just-a-boy;32544951]Gah! Diving in the Dead Sea is like swimming in liquid suicidal death!
I accidentally dipped my face once when I was busy being cool and floating around in weird poses and that shit [B]BURNS LIKE HELL[/B]![/QUOTE]
Burns your eyes, yeah.
Granted, salt water burns your eyes regardless. Dead Sea water just burns it that much more due to the FUCKTON OF SALT in it.
Wouldn't the dead seas water suck the water from your eyes due to osmotic pressure?
[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;32550098]Wouldn't the dead seas water suck the water from your eyes due to osmotic pressure?[/QUOTE]
It's really not all that dramatic, when I got dead sea water in my eyes I just stuck my hand out of the water, waved it around to dry it off and rubbed my eyes; and I was fine.
[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;32550098]Wouldn't the dead seas water suck the water from your eyes due to osmotic pressure?[/QUOTE]
yes
there's a popping sound and then it sounds like air escaping a balloon
[QUOTE=Lebowski;32550550]yes
there's a popping sound and then it sounds like air escaping a balloon[/QUOTE]
If this is true I require video evidence, it sounds awesome.
[QUOTE=Dr. Punchgroin;32550581]If this is true I require video evidence, it sounds awesome.[/QUOTE]
i saw it on some russian site so you'll never find it im so sorry!!!
Prokaryotic bacteria are not Archae l2biology
Why don't we start diverting some fresh water back into it to fix what we broke
Going diving in the dead sea might be the scariest place to go diving.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32551834]Why don't we start diverting some fresh water back into it to fix what we broke[/QUOTE]
Because societies are idiots. See the Aral lake for an example. Fix the aral lake but god forbid the wool grow with its rivers water gets more expensive.
Ancient aliens for sure.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32551834]Why don't we start diverting some fresh water back into it to fix what we broke[/QUOTE]
But i want to see new species develop!
I heard you cant sink in the dead sea. You will just keep floating to the top.
[QUOTE=FuryBlitz;32558202]I heard you cant sink in the dead sea. You will just keep floating to the top.[/QUOTE]
The insane salinity keeps pretty much everything afloat.
I was seriously tempted to float on my back and paddle from the resort beach to the other side of the sea.
But once I got so far out that I couldn't see the seabed anymore I freaked out because I thought an Ichtyosaur would come up from below and eat me.
The salty bacteria sea
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