Indian scientists have discovered three new bacteria that can resist ultraviolet radiation about 40km above the surface of the earth—a finding that could throw light on the origin of life on the planet.
These three types of bacteria —which do not match any species on earth—were found in samples collected through a balloon sent up to the stratosphere in April 2005. This layer of earth’s atmosphere receives heavy ultraviolet radiation that is harmful to almost all life on earth and typically kills bacteria.
The experiment was conducted by a team led by Jayant Narlikar, founder director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, and Indian Space Research Organization (Isro), Bangalore.
One of the new species has been named as Janibacter hoylei, after the Distinguished Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, the second as Bacillus Isronensis recognizing the contribution of ISRO in the balloon experiments which led to its discovery and the third as Bacillus Aryabhata after India's celebrated ancient astronomer Aryabhata and also the first satellite of ISRO.
The experiment was conducted using a 26.7 million cubic feet balloon carrying a 459 kg scientific payload soaked in 38 kg of liquid Neon, which was flown from the National Balloon Facility in Hyderabad, operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). The payload consisted of a cryosampler containing sixteen evacuated and sterilized stainless steel probes. Throughout the flight, the probes remained immersed in liquid Neon to create a cryopump effect. These cylinders, after collecting air samples from different heights ranging from 20 km to 41 km, were parachuted down and safely retrieved. These samples were analyzed by scientists at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad as well as the National Center for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune for independent examination, ensuring that both laboratories followed similar protocols to achieve homogeneity of procedure and interpretation.
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