How Can Microorganisms Bore Into Limestone?

[bdevey]

“Geo-microbiologists from Arizona State University have solved a long-standing conundrum about how some photosynthetic microorganisms, endolithic cyanobacteria, bore their way into limestone, sand grains, mussel shells, coral skeletons and other substrates composed of carbonate.” Quoted from the Arizona State University press release. link

[Auspex]

Neat research! This is an amazing process, and in all likelihood a very ancient one; a finding that can shed light on why the Earth is the way it is.

Interesting to note that the article mentions research into how to prevent, for commercial interests, this ancient process!

[pleecan]

Very interesting article..... cyano bacteria boring into inorganic calcium substrate as fungi tunnels and bores into wood as an analogy.......

[tracer]

this is extremely frightening. i mean, the more i read, the more i've come to realize that bacteria are up to all manner of sneakinesses! if you had told me like um, three years and six months ago that bacteria were responsible for the creation and also the disappearance of large amounts of the rocks in the world, i woulda loudly guffawed, but now i'm even afraid to look sideways at anything single-celled for fear of being targeted for precipitation or dissolution or sompin.

<spraying lysol all over the monitor> slurp that through your calcium pump!

one of these days i'm gonna wake up incorporated into a stromatolith

[pleecan]

Rest assured Tracer ... we have an incredible mechanism to counteract microorganisms... it is called skin ... a complex barrier to keep up out pathogens and if that is breached the immune system kicks in to deal with the nasty intruders..... what an elegant design......