Скачать или смотреть Planet Microbes: Outer Space & Rare Earth Elements

11/10/2020

In our past meetings we’ve delved into the lives of microbes living in the Atacama Desert, and the deepest hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean. We’ve met a zombifying fungus and learned about how Victorians used to send each other mysterious greeting cards made out of microbes. We’ve even travelled around the world on the wings of bees, looking at the urban microbiome. Where haven’t we been? Outer space! For the last Planet Microbes of 2020, we’ll rocket away from Earth on a SpaceX ship and talk about an experiment that was funded by Elon Musk and conducted aboard the International Space Station. The goal? To figure out how bacteria could be used to mine rare earth elements from rocks at zero gravity. Why would anyone want to do this? Well, you’ll have to join us to find out.

Microbes are the invisible engines that keep the planet running. They were the first lifeforms to arise on early Earth 3.5 billion years ago, and they’ll likely exist long after we’re gone...but it's here and now we’re interested in. How do microbes influence our climate, and how are they responding to climate change? Join ocean microbiologist Kyle Frischkorn, Ph.D. for an informal discussion of environmental microbiology research that’s hot off the press.

This monthly discussion will be centered around a recently published scientific article that delves into environmental microbiology, with a special emphasis on the changing climate. Participants of all backgrounds and experiences are welcome to join the conversation.
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Meet the Instructor

Kyle Frischkorn’s (he/him) career as a scientist set sail when he learned that phytoplankton— microscopic plants that live in aquatic environments —are responsible for half the oxygen in every breath we take. The question of how these microbes accomplish this feat, and how they’ll fare in a changing climate, has continually inspired his scientific endeavors. Kyle obtained his PhD in microbial oceanography from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and conducted postdoctoral research at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. His research took him to the remote reaches of the tropical oceans, where he studied the bacterium Trichodesmium, a nitrogen-fixing phytoplankton, that hosts a microbiome of other bacteria that work together to survive the high seas and perform the metabolic activities that keep the planet habitable. Kyle is now an associate editor at the scientific journal Nature Communications, where he is responsible for handling research manuscripts in all areas where biology and Earth science intersect.