Nitrous oxide and chlorophyll, present in certain layers of sediment, indicated the presence of bacterium. Further investigation revealed a variety of bacteria, including cyanobacteria species, filamentous species that help bind the sediment, nitrogen fixing species, and various heterotrophs. Demonstrating that life in some shape or form can take hold just about anywhere on the planet leads to conjecture about what primitive life on other planets in our solar system might be like, should it exist at all. An oasis for life in a polar desert. Text and abstract of article cited above.
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Their study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, of ribozyne from the microorganism, Tetrahymena thermophilia, has revealed that current thinking must be reworked. Up until now it has been believed that folding was stepwise, directed by four molecular units. Guanine paired with cytosine and adrenine with uracil to create a secondary structure. This was followed by unmatched bases bonding with each other to form a final tertiary structure. By examining the microbe ribozyme with magnesium ions, which cause tertiary folding, and then excluding magnesium ions, they discovered that this final stage of folding also involves the pairings created in the secondary stage, and not just the remaining unmatched bases.