14 October, 2026
What do you consider a "limit"? Environments that go beyond what we know as limits are called extreme environments. For humans, and even for many animals, survival in these places is impossible. For some microorganisms however, these conditions are not only tolerable but often necessary for survival.
This is exactly what Prof. Alexandre Rosado discusses in his latest editorial in Sustainable Microbiology, “Extreme microbes for a changing planet and beyond”. What we call "extreme" often reflects human expectations, not the limits of life. Check out the editorial here.
(MEGB Lab team - Al Wahbah Crater expedition)
Same microorganisms can also offer functions with value beyond their natural ecological context. Some examples include the bioremediation of environments contaminated by heavy metals and hydrocarbons, and the production of enzymes that degrade plastics.
Our Planetary Simulation Chamber is designed for exactly this kind of testing. With it, we can explore the survival limits of these microorganisms under different pressures, radiation levels and temperatures. This lets us study how microbes, plants and materials perform under Mars-like conditions, with applications both in space and on Earth.
(Video produced by Jehad Dabab)