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Some of the goodies that Denis Kitchen was selling 30+ years ago!




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Hell’s Gate Hides Methane-Eating Microorganism

Son of Satan © Marvel Comics

U of Calgary biology professor Peter Dunfield and colleagues describe the new methane-eating microorganism, Methylokorus infernorum , found in the geothermal field known as Hell’s Gate, near the city of Rotorua in New Zealand. It is the hardiest “methanotrophic” bacterium yet discovered.

“This is a really tough methane-consuming organism that lives in a much more acidic environment than any we’ve seen before,” said Dunfield. “It belongs to a rather mysterious family of bacteria (called Verrucomicrobia) that are found everywhere but are very difficult to grow in the laboratory.”

Methanotrophic bacteria consume methane as their only source of energy and convert it to carbon dioxide during their digestive process. Methane (commonly known as natural gas) is 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and is largely produced by decaying organic matter. Scientists have long known that vast amounts of methane are produced in acidic environments, not only geothermal sites but also marshes and peat bogs. Much of it is consumed by methanotrophic bacteria, which serve an important role in regulating the methane content of the world’s atmosphere.

Distinct groups corresponding to broad microbial taxa can be delineated, with the exception of Crenothrix polyspora, which groups apart from other Gammaproteobacteria. The tree was constructed on the basis of 165 amino-acid positions by using TREE-PUZZLE29, a quartet maximum-likelihood method. The support value from 10,000 puzzling steps for the branch to the Verrucomicrobia was 86%. The scale bar represents 0.1 change per amino-acid position.

Ref.: Methane oxidation by an extremely acidophilic bacterium of the phylum Verrucomicrobia. 2007. Peter F. Dunfield. et al. Nature 450, 879-882.

Lightening Detected On Venus

The occurrence of lightning in a planetary atmosphere enables chemical processes to take place that would not occur under standard temperatures and pressures. Although much evidence has been reported for lightning on Venus, some searches have been negative and the existence of lightning has remained controversial. A definitive detection would be the confirmation of electromagnetic, whistler-mode waves propagating from the atmosphere to the ionosphere.

Here we report observations of Venus' ionosphere that reveal strong, circularly polarized, electromagnetic waves with frequencies near 100 Hz. The waves appear as bursts of radiation lasting 0.25 to 0.5 seconds, and have the expected properties of whistler-mode signals generated by lightning discharges in Venus' clouds.

Lightning on Venus inferred from whistler-mode waves in the ionosphere. 2007. C.T. Russell, et al., Nature 450: 661-662.

The Evolution of Nakedness in Homo sapiens

Evolution of nakedness in Homo sapiens. 2007. M. J. Rantala. Journal of Zoology 273: 1-7.

Homo sapiens is the only existing primate species lacking in functionally effective thermally insulating fur. As all other primates have considerable hair covering, it has always been accepted that our ancestors must once have had a respectable amount of body hair. Unfortunately, fossils cannot help us when it comes to differences in skin and hair. Recent DNA analysis, however, has given us some idea of when and where the great denudation took place.

A number of hypotheses have been proposed to account for this feature, but none of these has gained general acceptance. All will be explained here.

Real Atomic Surgery In The Forbidden Dimension!

Jackson Phibes' band The Forbidden Dimension have just released their new LP, A Cool Sound Outta Hell, on Saved By Vinyl.

In honour of this monumentous event Atomic Surgery now brings you a real tale from the *choke* atomic surgery operating room! :

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Witches tales © Eerie Publications

Born This Day: The Invisible Man

Claude Rains Nov. 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967

Debuted This Day: The Motorcycle

Black Cat © Harvey Comics

In this day in 1885, the world's first motorcycle, designed by Gottlieb Daimler, made its debut. The frame and wheels were made of wood. A leather belt transfered power from the engine to large brass gears mounted to the rear wheel. The leather saddle wasn't very comfortable since there was no suspension (front or rear). The single cylinder engine had a bore of 58mm and stroke of 100mm giving a displacement of 264cc's. The engine gave 0.5hp at 700 rpm. The top speed for the motorcycle was 12 km/h. This was built as an experimental vehicle to test the new Daimler engine, which was to power Daimler's first motorized carriage the following year.

The Black Hood © Archie Comics

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