Water is vital for many biological processes and is essential for all living organisms.
However, numerous macroorganisms and microorganisms have adapted to survive in …

The solution-mediated formation of calcium sulfate minerals, ie gypsum, anhydrite and
bassanite, is a common process in both natural and engineered settings. It plays a key role …

Traces of life are nearly ubiquitous on Earth. However, a central unresolved question is
whether these traces always indicate an active microbial community or whether, in extreme …

Microbial ecology is the study of interactions among microbes in natural environments and
their roles in biogeochemical cycles, food web dynamics, and the evolution of life. Microbes …

Bacterial Biogeochemistry, Third Edition focuses on bacterial metabolism and its relevance
to the environment, including the decomposition of soil, food chains, nitrogen fixation …

Abstract Background The Atacama Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world and its
soil, with extremely low moisture, organic carbon content, and oxidizing conditions, is …

Soil is composed of a mosaic of different rocks and minerals, usually considered as an inert
substrata for microbial colonization. However, recent findings suggest that minerals, in soils …

Nearly half the earth's surface is occupied by dryland ecosystems, regions susceptible to
reduced states of biological productivity caused by climate fluctuations. Of these regions …

In an era of rapid climate change and expansion of desertification, the extremely harsh
conditions of drylands are a true challenge for microbial life. Under drought conditions …

Since a key requirement of known life forms is available water (water activity; aw), recent
searches for signatures of past life in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments have …