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Herbsprout is a webblog and podcast dedicated to sharing the health benefits of herbs, food, innovations related to our gut microbiome. Herbsprout seeks to bridge the vast chasm dividing the mainstream medical community and alternative medicine.

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  • Deep sea vents hold building blocks of life, health, mining

Deep sea vents hold building blocks of life, health, mining

Jan
15
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Deep sea vents hold building b...
A January 13, 2020 article by Phys.org (quoting a study in Limnology and Oceanography), reported that hydrothermal vent systems, hot, mineral-rich waters support a vast microbial ecosystem at the base of the food chain. They enable rich genetic diversity among the microbes, believed by many to hold key anti-cancer and other biotechnology applications, according to Julie Huber, a scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and co-author of the study.

Hydrothermal systems are also vulnerable to disturbance and slow to recover. The problem is these same environments are also rich in mineral resources coveted by the mining industry, including metals like zinc, cobalt and rare earth elements. The thermal systems are ideal environments for the creation of massive polymetallic sulfide deposits, ferromanganese nodules, and cobalt crusts.

Furthermore, the hydrothermal systems support chemosynthesis, where "energy from inorganic chemical reactions is used to convert dissolved carbon dioxide into the organic molecules (sugars, fats, proteins, etc.) that are the building blocks of life," according to the study. This environment fuels abundant chemosynthesis‐driven microbial life. Endosymbionts (e.g., tube worms, mussels, and clams) and grazing microbial mats (e.g., Rimicaris shrimp) are a few examples.

For more information about the study, see https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lno.11403
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