WASHINGTON (AFP)—The United States proposed listing polar bears as threatened, marking the first time the Bush administration has singled out climate change as the potential driving force behind the demise of a species.
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/12/us_proposes_listing_polar_bear.php
Apart from charismatic microfauna... are there some "sexy" microfauna that we should worry about... extremophiles?
Extremophiles
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Thermal vent |
One of the great thrills of microbiology is studying organisms that thrive in some of the world’s most inhospitable environments. These organisms are known as extremophiles (“phile” means “loving”). They live in extreme environments and are able to exploit resources that are unusable, and many times toxic, to other organisms.
How are extremophiles useful to people?
While extremophiles are intrinsically interesting because they can inhabit otherwise barren niches, there are also benefits to humans. For instance, the key enzymes used by molecular biologists to examine DNA sequences were isolated from thermophilic bacteria. These enzymes are naturally able to withstand the high temperatures necessary for scientists to manipulate DNA. There are also extremophile enzymes that are well suited for industrial applications that are carried out at elevated temperatures or in acidic or alkaline conditions. Extremophiles are constantly under examination by researchers for additional agents that could facilitate academic, industrial, and even medical projects.
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