Modern methods and approaches, such as the analysis of molecular sequences to infer evolutionary relationships among organisms, have provided vast new sets of data to further our understanding ofliving organisms, but there remain enigmas in the biological world that will keep scientists working and thinking for decades. Microorganisms by virtue of their small size and almost unbounded diversity provide ample examples of intriguing mysteries that are being challenged with all of the techniques the modern scientific arsenal can provide. One whole arena of this battle to resolve puzzling...

Symbiosis is the fourth volume in the series Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Habitats (COLE). Fifty experts, from over a dozen countries, review their current studies on different approaches to these phenomena. The chapters present various aspects of symbiosis from gene transfer, morphological features, and biodiversity to individual organisms sharing mutual cellular habitats. The origin of the eukaryotic phase is discussed with emphasis on cyanelles, H syntrophy, N₂ fixation, and S-based symbiosis (as well as the origin of mitochondrion,...

"This water" he told me, "runs out to the eastern region, and flows into the Arabah; and when it comes into the sea, into the sea of foul waters i. e., the Dead Sea], the water will become wholesome. Every living creature that swarms will be able to live wherever this stream goes; the fish will be very abundant once these waters have reached there. It will be wholesome, and everything will live wherever this stream goes. Fishermen shall stand beside it all the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it shall be a place for drying nets; and the fish will be of various kinds and] most plentiful, like...

In this Journey to Microbial Worlds we present the diversity of microorganisms, from the state of fossil microbes in Archaean age rocks to the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. This volume discusses the extremophiles living in harsh environments (from our anthropocentric point) and describes them in considerable detail. Some chapters also review topics such as symbiosis, bacterial luminescence, methanogens, and petroleum-grown cells. The final chapters of this book shed new light on astrobiology and speculate on extremophiles as candidates for extraterrestrial life. All...