contributed by Pok Man Leung
The natural habitats of chemolithotrophs such as Leptospirillum and Pyrolobus contain organic compounds. Yet, when grown in the lab, these microbes are extremely sensitive to trace amounts of organic compounds. What is the basis of this sensitivity in culture?
Why are not all bacteria motile?
Where on Earth would one expect to find a single species of microbes (a pure culture) for sustained periods of time?
Apparently, the total weight of Bacteria on Earth exceeds that of Archaea. How come?
If viruses did not exist, could anyone have conjured them up?
by Elio — We have now posted Talmudic Question #50, so this may be a time to reflect on this endeavor. True to our intent, these have been questions that have no definitive answers but most of the responses offered thoughtful conjectures.
Can you envisage a Winogradsky column consisting of only Gram-negative bacteria (or just Gram-positives, for that matter)?
