posted
Yep, insider buying into strength is always a good signal..Even more so in a OTCBB.
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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SSWM Presentation Well Received at Investment Conference Tuesday October 4, 9:45 am ET
CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2005--Robert Brehm, CEO of U.S. Microbics, Inc. (OTCBB:BUGS - News; BCN:615212), an innovative environmental products and services company, announced that the presentation by Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc. (OTCBB:SSWM - News), at the Southern California Investment Association's National Investment Conference in Irvine, CA on October 1, was received very well by a large audience of qualified venture capitalists, NASD broker/dealers, investment and merchant bankers, investment advisors, analysts, market makers, fund managers, financial service professionals, and business development consultants looking for emerging growth companies with exciting futures. ADVERTISEMENT
Brehm commented on the excellent response by saying, "We used this presentation opportunity to showcase SSWM and the incredible opportunities we have to help the people of Mexico solve many of their pressing environmental concerns using our patented bio-nanotechnology and precision engineering services coupled with local labor and equipment resources. With recent announcements of PEMEX funding for environmental cleanup and emergency response opportunities in various states, SSWM is on the verge of major expansion potential that should be of interest to anyone concerned about clean air, water and soil and related investment opportunities."
Brehm further elicited, "Our message was to get the audience excited about our future and the social and financial rewards available with their help as we clean up the world's messes. Based upon the interest and many new business contacts made I believe our message was well received and we will consummate additional resources to accelerate our growth progress." The SSWM presentation slides are available at www.bugsatwork.com/news.htm.
About Sub-Surface Waste Management
Sub-Surface Waste Management Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary of U.S. Microbics, Inc. (OTCBB:BUGS - News) and provides comprehensive civil and environmental engineering project management services including specialists to design, permit, build and operate environmental waste clean-up treatment systems using conventional, biological and filtration technologies. SSWM is capitalizing on its patented technologies registered in Mexico with SEMARNAT, a Federal regulatory agency overseeing environmental compliance nationwide.
The information contained in this press release includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements usually contain the words "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," or similar expressions that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the Company's status as a startup company with uncertain profitability, need for significant capital, uncertainty concerning market acceptance of its products, competition, limited service and manufacturing facilities, dependence on technological developments and protection of its intellectual property. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed more fully in the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan of Operation" and other sections of the Company's Form 10-KSB and other publicly available information regarding the Company on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company will provide you with copies of this information upon request.
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Oregon State Has Big Plans for Study of Tiny Microbes
Cleaning up contaminated areas like the Portland Harbor Superfund site and the Umatilla Weapons Depot. Slowing global warming. Removing pesticides to improve water quality.
These are all gigantic endeavors, but ones that Oregon State University researchers believe can possibly be accomplished by the tiniest of organisms - microbes that just might also hold the key to life on Mars.
Subsurface microbes live below the Earth's surface in soil, mud and rock, and their potential to modify the Earth has only been recognized recently.
"Microorganisms below the subsurface play a major role in the cycles on earth," said Lewis Semprini, a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. "It has only been in the past decade that it was recognized that deep subsurface microbes play a significant role in global cycles."
The work done by Semprini and others led to the Subsurface Biosphere Education Research initiative, one of six initiatives that were recently approved by OSU. All six support OSU's recently adopted strategic plan. The university is reallocating funds internally to provide seed funding for the initiatives.
In 1998, Semprini, and Dan Arp, chair of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, found that some types of bacteria that grow on butane gas have the ability to transform toxic wastes to harmless endproducts. Using microorganisms to clean up contamination could save billions of dollars, Semprini said.
In 2003, Martin Fisk, a professor in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, and other scientists discovered bacteria in a hole drilled more than 4,000 feet deep in volcanic rock on the island of Hawaii near Hilo. Fisk has said that the environment could be analogous to conditions on Mars and other planets.
"Under these conditions, microbes could live beneath any rocky planet," Fisk said at the time. "It would be conceivable to find life inside of Mars, within a moon of Jupiter or Saturn, or even on a comet containing ice crystals that gets warmed up when the comet passes by the sun." Semprini, Fisk and Arp are three of the principal investigators of the initiative proposal. The others are Peter Bottomley, professor in the Department of Microbiology; and David Myrold, professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science.
Bottomley and Myrold study bacteria and fungi in coniferous forest ecosystems in the central Cascade Mountains at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. They also study nitrogen and carbon cycles.
The subsurface biosphere is an emerging area of study that connects the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, geochemistry, bioremediation (cleaning up contamination), bioengineering, agriculture, forestry, geology, oceanography, astrobiology and others.
One potential benefit is in the area of global warming. Subsurface microbes are part of the process that forms carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to global warming.
"Microbes may also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the subsurface, potentially playing a key role in slowing global warming," Semprini said.
Semprini said that the microbes also can help immobilize radioactive contaminants, such as uranium, in groundwater so these can be recovered or the transport slowed. They are also miniature chemical factories that have determined ways of producing mineral products with very uniform properties. For example, certain bacteria can produce magnetitic iron particles of very specific sizes that could result in much better magnetitic tapes.
This initiative will include faculty members from five colleges - Forestry, Agricultural Sciences, Science, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and Engineering.
"Our ultimate goal is to create a Center of Excellence for Subsurface Biosphere Education and Research," Semprini said. "It has implications for a wide range of benefits, from environmental cleanup to a better understanding of soil processes. We want to create more synergy among faculty on campus so we can collaborate on large interdisciplinary projects."
Semprini said the key to the initiative is that work is already going on at OSU.
In 2001, the National Science Foundation awarded OSU a $2.6 million grant to form the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, a graduate student training program to focus on life below the earth's surface.
"There is a significant amount of research already going on and this is a way to get the researchers together and communicate," he said, adding that there will be a potential to offer seed research money for faculty to produce exploratory research findings needed for large interdisciplinary research proposals.
Semprini feels the structure of the Center will evolve over the course of the initiative, and the principal investigators all want the center to live beyond the five years of the initiative.
"We are going to add junior faculty members that fit strategic educational and research needs that have joint appointments between different colleges. This will permit us to increase the courses offered and get undergraduates involved in the research," he said, adding that increasing the diversity of graduate and undergraduate students is also a mission of the initiative.
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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State Has Big Plans for Study of Tiny Microbes
Cleaning up contaminated areas like the Portland Harbor Superfund site and the Umatilla Weapons Depot. Slowing global warming. Removing pesticides to improve water quality.
These are all gigantic endeavors, but ones that Oregon State University researchers believe can possibly be accomplished by the tiniest of organisms - microbes that just might also hold the key to life on Mars.
Subsurface microbes live below the Earth's surface in soil, mud and rock, and their potential to modify the Earth has only been recognized recently.
"Microorganisms below the subsurface play a major role in the cycles on earth," said Lewis Semprini, a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. "It has only been in the past decade that it was recognized that deep subsurface microbes play a significant role in global cycles."
The work done by Semprini and others led to the Subsurface Biosphere Education Research initiative, one of six initiatives that were recently approved by OSU. All six support OSU's recently adopted strategic plan. The university is reallocating funds internally to provide seed funding for the initiatives.
In 1998, Semprini, and Dan Arp, chair of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, found that some types of bacteria that grow on butane gas have the ability to transform toxic wastes to harmless endproducts. Using microorganisms to clean up contamination could save billions of dollars, Semprini said.
In 2003, Martin Fisk, a professor in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, and other scientists discovered bacteria in a hole drilled more than 4,000 feet deep in volcanic rock on the island of Hawaii near Hilo. Fisk has said that the environment could be analogous to conditions on Mars and other planets.
"Under these conditions, microbes could live beneath any rocky planet," Fisk said at the time. "It would be conceivable to find life inside of Mars, within a moon of Jupiter or Saturn, or even on a comet containing ice crystals that gets warmed up when the comet passes by the sun." Semprini, Fisk and Arp are three of the principal investigators of the initiative proposal. The others are Peter Bottomley, professor in the Department of Microbiology; and David Myrold, professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science.
Bottomley and Myrold study bacteria and fungi in coniferous forest ecosystems in the central Cascade Mountains at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. They also study nitrogen and carbon cycles.
The subsurface biosphere is an emerging area of study that connects the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, geochemistry, bioremediation (cleaning up contamination), bioengineering, agriculture, forestry, geology, oceanography, astrobiology and others.
One potential benefit is in the area of global warming. Subsurface microbes are part of the process that forms carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to global warming.
"Microbes may also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the subsurface, potentially playing a key role in slowing global warming," Semprini said.
Semprini said that the microbes also can help immobilize radioactive contaminants, such as uranium, in groundwater so these can be recovered or the transport slowed. They are also miniature chemical factories that have determined ways of producing mineral products with very uniform properties. For example, certain bacteria can produce magnetitic iron particles of very specific sizes that could result in much better magnetitic tapes.
This initiative will include faculty members from five colleges - Forestry, Agricultural Sciences, Science, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and Engineering.
"Our ultimate goal is to create a Center of Excellence for Subsurface Biosphere Education and Research," Semprini said. "It has implications for a wide range of benefits, from environmental cleanup to a better understanding of soil processes. We want to create more synergy among faculty on campus so we can collaborate on large interdisciplinary projects."
Semprini said the key to the initiative is that work is already going on at OSU.
In 2001, the National Science Foundation awarded OSU a $2.6 million grant to form the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, a graduate student training program to focus on life below the earth's surface.
"There is a significant amount of research already going on and this is a way to get the researchers together and communicate," he said, adding that there will be a potential to offer seed research money for faculty to produce exploratory research findings needed for large interdisciplinary research proposals.
Semprini feels the structure of the Center will evolve over the course of the initiative, and the principal investigators all want the center to live beyond the five years of the initiative.
"We are going to add junior faculty members that fit strategic educational and research needs that have joint appointments between different colleges. This will permit us to increase the courses offered and get undergraduates involved in the research," he said, adding that increasing the diversity of graduate and undergraduate students is also a mission of the initiative. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posts: 3251 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005 | IP: Logged |
Dustoff101 Member
posted October 04, 2005 12:57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Following the 2004 conference, two other GRC conferences on Marine Microbes are planned.
Please contact the chairs of these events for further information.
2006 in North America: Co-chairs are Dave Caron (University of South California, Los Angeles) and Alex Worden (University of Miami)
2008 in Europe: Vice-chair is Carlos Pedrós-Alió (Institut de Ciències del Mar Barcelona)
Conference Organisers Conference Chair: Daniel Vaulot, CNRS UMR 7127, Station Biologique de Roscoff, BP 74, 29682 Roscoff FRANCE, Telephone: +33 2 98 29 23 34 FAX: +33 2 98 29 23 24 Email: vaulot*sb-roscoff.fr
Conference Co-chair: William K. Li Bedford Institute of Oceanography, PO Box 1006, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, B2Y 4A2 Telephone: 1-902-426-6349 FAX: 1-902-426-9388 Email: LiB*mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Conference outline
This 2004 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) will be the first one of a new series dedicated to Marine Microbes. Microbes (i.e. virus, Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryota; autotrophic and heterotrophic) lie at the heart of the functioning of all marine ecosystems, from the surface euphotic zone to deep hydrothermal vents. Marine microbes drive the natural biogeochemical cycles and, in turn, are affected by anthropogenic influences. Thus, these microbes are directly relevant to many societal concerns of the global environment: biodiversity, climate change, harvestable resources and others. The last two decades have seen an explosion of studies devoted to these organisms. The use of molecular tools has been critical in this respect. It is timely to initiate this series with a conference on picophytoplankton because this field appears to be poised at a turning point.
Picophytoplankton, discovered in the late 1970s, are unicellular photosynthetic organisms less than 2 to 3 microns in size. These marine microbes dominate biomass and production in large regions of the ocean, thus playing a key role in global elemental cycles such as that of carbon. Nearly 20 years after the NATO Advanced Study Institute on picoplankton organized by T. Platt and W.K.W. Li, the time has arrived for a new meeting to summarize the current state of knowledge. To date, a very large amount of data has been gathered on picophytoplankton. Information on ecological distributions and taxonomic diversity have come from novel approaches such as flow cytometry and molecular biology. More strikingly, the recent development of genomics of picoplankton species such as Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and Ostreococcus provide new and fundamental insight. This meeting will first review recent advances in the taxonomy of picophytoplankton, especially the discovery of many novel eukaryotic groups both from culture and molecular-based field studies. In particular, we will cover extensively the new tools of molecular biology. Then, we will examine the physiology and ecology of picophytoplankton and revisit its role in the microbial food web. Finally we will dwell on the very exciting developments in picophytoplankton genomics and how the new knowledge will impact on our understanding of marine ecosystems.
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, Michigan Michael J. Klug (klug*kbs.msu.edu) James M. Tiedje (tiedjej*pilot.msu.edu) Eldor A. Paul (paulea*pilot.msu.edu) Katherine L. Gross (kgross*kbs.msu.edu) G. Philip Robertson (robertson*kbs.msu.edu) Thomas M. Schmidt (tschmidt*pilot.msu.edu)
Soil microbial ecology is a central part of KBS LTER research. Understanding the ecological interactions underlying the productivity of field crop agriculture is the central focus of LTER research at KBS, and microbes comprise one of our most intensively studied taxa, together with vascular plants and insects. Microbial studies at KBS take a variety of forms, with most studies directed towards questions about the patterns, causes, and consequences of microbial diversity and microbial biomass for ecosystem processes in intensively managed ecosystems.
Our studies to date have centered on examinations of microbial growth rates, biomass, and fungal: bacterial ratios. We have also focused on population-level questions using direct microscopy, classical pure-culture techniques, and, for the multitude of unculturable microbes in soil, molecular analyses of phenotypes and genomes. Many of these latter techniques provide whole-soil signatures of community composition, and have been particularly useful for examaning community-level differences among sites and experimental treatments. For questions related to specific populations we have focused our efforts on examinations of specific functional groups such as denitrifiers, nitrifiers, lignin and 2,4-D degraders, and the rhizobacteria, linking these groups to specific microbial processes. Much of this research has been collaborative with the NSF Center for Microbial Ecology (www.cme.msu.edu) at Michigan State; a number of KBS LTER co-PI's are also co-investigators in the CME.
We provide below background information on our current studies of microbial community structure. Other microbial work is also underway at KBS but not described here due to space limitations – including detailed biogeochemical and population-level investigations of microbial processes such as denitrification, trace gas fluxes, and soil organic matter turnover and DOC and DON fluxes. Following this section we highlight specific analytical procedures now in use at KBS.
Microbial Community Structure
The diversity and complexity of soil microbial communities present a major challenge to our efforts to understand how biological processes can be managed in agricultural systems. Soil microbial communities are arguably the most diverse communities on earth, and the factors that determine this extraordinarily high diversity are not well understood (Caldwell et al. 1997). Torsvick et al. (1994) have provided evidence that in one gram of soil there are billions of individual organisms and thousands of species. What are the ecological consequences of such high diversity at such a small spatial scale? And how does this change across the range of scales that we consider to be important for other organisms (e.g. plants and consumers) and biogeochemical processes? To determine how to manage the biological processes controlled by soil microbes, it is important to understand the patterns, causes, and consequences of microbial diversity and the scale at which microbial communities are structured. Understanding the link between the scale at which the microbial community is structured and the scale at which ecosystem processes occur may itself tell us a great deal about the role of microbial diversity in ecosystem functioning.
The high spatial heterogeneity of soil in an ecological context is well documented (Robertson and Gross 1994, Paul and Clark 1996). Differences among habitats in the degree of soil heterogeneity may influence the diversity of microbes that occur there and their function (Gross et al. 1995). For example, our results with nitrifiers and soil C dynamics are best interpreted in relation to differences among treatments in soil heterogeneity (reflecting the availability of microhabitats) and soil organic fractions (reflecting resource heterogeneity; Paul et al. 1998a). Spatial heterogeneity in soil microbial communities occurs at a broad range of scales, from soil particles (e.g. soil macroaggregates), to plant rhizospheres, to field plots, and to the ecosystem and global levels (Tiedje 1994).
At KBS we have documented that there is spatially-structured dependence in microbial processes at both a macro- (e.g 10's of meters, Robertson et al.1997) and micro- (cm, Cavigelli et al. 1995) scale. We have shown that microbial activity (measured by short-term microbial respiration) varies among and within plant communities; in some sites samples taken only centimeters apart vary by a factor of >2. The among-community scale component of this nested variation may be attributable to differences in primary productivity and soil physical properties (e.g. depth to the Bt horizon). At the within-community scales, the doubling of microbial activity may be attributable to the distance to the nearest plant. However, we suspect that these differences may also be due to heterogeneity in soil structure, leading to discontinuous resource availability at the millimeter-scale. This small-scale heterogeneity may be driven by the interaction of plant-derived substrates, such as roots and decaying plant particles, and within-aggregate habitats differences due to clay content, pore sizes, and aeration.
To date, our investigations of soil microbial communities have primarily concentrated on the level and pattern of microbial diversity among the different plant communities that occur on the KBS LTER site. These communities range from the intensively managed row crops under different input intensities to native communities at different successional stages. Our results, generated by a variety of phenotypic and genetic approaches, have documented differences in the apparent diversity of whole-soil microbial communities (patterns of bacterial fatty acids, FAMEs), as well as differences in the diversity of key functional groups, notably denitrifiers (Cavigelli 1998) and nitrifiers (Bruns et al. 1998).
In the past decade we have concentrated on documenting the level and patterns of microbial diversity among ecosystems using strategies such as those outlined in the figure at right. We have now begun more intense investigations of the regulation, maintenance, and consequences of microbial community structure. We hypothesize that the majority of soil microbial diversity is driven by the heterogeneous distribution of resources and habitats in soil. For example, we have found a variety of autotrophic nitrifier genera in our never-tilled successional plots (Bruns et al. 1998), all of which grow in the laboratory only at low NH4+ concentrations. In contrast, in our agronomic plots there is a single dominant genus (Nitrosomonas) that is able to grow across a wider range of NH4+ concentrations. These differences in nitrifier diversity could be due to differences in resource availability, and therefore competitive interactions. However, this pattern may also be due to greater diversity of protective soil habitats in the never-tilled community. Heterogeneity in soil structure, which may lead to higher levels of microbial diversity, is affected not only by cultivation regime but also by the presence and activity of plants that create biopores and habitat for the mesofauna that are directly responsible for much of the soil structure (Oades 1993).
To improve our knowledge of how microbial community structure interacts with the functioning of ecosystems we must obtain a more quantitative knowledge of the interaction between microbes, plant residues and disturbance, at a variety of spatial scales. This will require examining the availability of specific resources (at the substrate level) across multiple spatial scales.
We are currently concentrating our research on soil microbial communities at the KBS LTER in four areas:
Investigations of the availability of microbial resources (especially substrates) through continued studies on the pools and fluxes of soil organic matter; Examination of the scales at which carbon turns over in soils from the microaggregate (mm) to the landscape (km); Investigations of the diversity and structure of specific groups of soil microbes across the 11 different communities on the KBS LTER, with an initial emphasis on Basidiomycete fungi, a microbial group that is responsible for significant carbon turnover in soil; and Investigations of the linkage between plant diversity, disturbance, soil structure, microbial diversity, and key ecosystem functions such as primary productivity, nitrogen cycling, and nutrient retention in general.
Analytical Procedures Used for Microbial Ecology at KBS Microbial Biomass Microbial biomass is enumerated at KBS using the chloroform incubation technique calibrated with direct microscopy. Specific techniques are documented in Howarth et al. (1994, 1996) and Paul et al. (1998). Results are available on the KBS LTER web site.
Fungal Biomass and Fungal: Bacterial Ratios Ergosterol is a steroid found in most fungi, but absent in other microorganisms. We have found that the concentration of ergosterol in soils (Stahl and Parkin 1996) is directly related to the growth rate of fungi and provides an estimate of the fungal biomass in soil. Comparisons of fungal and bacterial ratios, and the size of bacterial biomass are also useful for documenting changes within soil microbial communities. Computerized fluorescence microscopy has greatly aided our ability to examine these characteristics.
Culturable Microorganisms During the establishment of our main cropping systems site a culture collection of bacteria was established to provide a benchmark collection. From over 1000 isolates a 100-isolate subset was selected for intensive study ("the KBS 100"). These isolates have been characterized using a variety of polyphasic taxonomic tools (see figure above) and are maintained as a long-term reference collection. Additional collections include lignin decomposing Basidiomycetes from the site (molecular techniques show that many have previously not been described; Thorn et al. 1996) as well as collections of denitrifiers (Cavigelli 1998) and nitrifiers (Bruns 1996).
Non-Culturable Microbes: Community-Level Signatures We have used a variety of phenotypic tools to characterize soil microbial community composition as related to ecological change (Klug and Tiedje 1993, Sinsabaugh et al. 1998). These include fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses (Peterson and Klug 1994, Haack et al. 1994, Cavigelli et al. 1995, Corlew-Newman and Klug 1998), as well as Biolog™ carbon utilization signatures. We are also using G+C analysis to examine the distributions of low G+C populations (e.g. Pseudomonas) vs. high G+C populations (e.g. Arthrobacter), and L-asparaginase activity to resolve differences in rhizosphere populations.
Population-Level Signatures: Gene Probes We have collaborated with the NSF Center for Microbial Ecology (CME) at MSU in the development and testing of several gene probes for assaying specific soil populations at KBS. Particularly successful has been the deployment of probes for 2,4-D metabolism (Holben et al. 1992, Ka et al. 1994a,b,c,d, 1995), and for nitrifying bacteria (Zhou et al. 1995, Bruns 1996, Bruns et al. 1998). We are beginning to design population-specific rRNA oligonucleotide probes to determine the contribution of these various fractions of rRNA to total prokaryotic community rRNA. The advantage of working with RNA is that it allows detection of the most active (highest ribosome content) populations, which are also probably the most dominant populations.
Population-Level Signatures: Phenotypic Techniques We have used lipid analysis (fatty acid markers) to track changes in fungal communities in different soils (Stahl and Klug 1996, 1998, Stahl et al. 1998), changes in mycorrhizal associations (Calderon 1997), and differences in denitrifier community composition (Cavigelli 1998). These techniques have been combined with techniques for culturable microbes and community-level signatures (above).
Bacterial Growth Rates Microbial biomass provides an estimate of the pool size of microorganisms, but not of biomass turnover. We have examined bacterial turnover dynamics using 3H, thymidine, and 14C-leucine incorporation kinetics (Harris 1994, Harris and Paul 1994).
Microbial Process Measurements Measurements of key microbial processes such as nitrification, carbon mineralization, and carbon and nitrogen gas fluxes are coupled to those of microbial and plant community structure to provide insight into the functional significance of microbial diversity at KBS. Processes examined include CH4 oxidation and N2O production (Robertson 1993, Paustian et al. 1995, Ambus and Robertson 1998a,b), carbon oxidation (Paul et al. 1994, 1998a,b, Paustian et al. 1995), denitrification (Cavigelli 1998), and nitrification (Bruns 1996, Knoke 1997).
Microbial Predators Nematodes are important fungal and bacterial consumers that can affect the distribution and abundance of microbial populations. We have examined changes in nematode groups among cropping system treatments (Freckman and Ettema 1993) as well as the distribution of various nematode trophic groups (Robertson and Freckman 1995). These studies, in combination with our data on biomass and biomass turnover measurements, provide evidence on the controls in the distribution of key microbial groups in soils. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Ambus, P., and G.P. Robertson. 1998. Automated near-continuous measurement of CO2 and N2O fluxes with a photoacoustic infra-red spectrometer and flow-through soil cover boxes. Soil Science Society of America Journal 62:394-400.
Ambus, P., and G.P. Robertson. 1999. Fluxes of CH4 and N2O from Poplar stands grown under ambient and twice-ambient CO2. Plant and Soil (submitted).
Bruns, M. 1996. Nucleic acid probe analysis of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizer populations in soils. Ph.D. Dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Bruns, M.A., J.A. Fries, J.M. Tiedje, and E.A. Paul. 1998. Functional gene hybridization patterns of terrestrial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Microbial Ecology 36:293-302.
Calderon, F. 1997. Lipids: Their value as molecular markers and their role in the carbon cycle of arbuscular mycorrihizae. Ph.D. Dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Caldwell, D.E., G.M. Wolfaardt, D.R. Korber, and J.R. Lawrence. 1997. Do bacterial communities transcend Darwinism? Advances in Microbial Ecology 15: 105-191
Cavigelli, M.A., G.P. Robertson, and M.J. Klug. 1995. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles as measures of soil microbial community structure. Pages 99-113 in H.P. Collins, G.P. Robertson, and M.J. Klug, eds. The Significance and Regulation of Soil Biodiversity. Plant and Soil 170. Kluwer Academic Publishing, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Cavigelli, M. 1998. Ecosystem consequences and spatial variability of microbial soil community structure. Ph.D. Thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Cavigelli, M. A., G. P. Robertson, and M. J. Klug. 1995. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles as measures of soil microbial community structure. Pages 99-113 in H. P. Collins, G. P. Robertson, and M. J. Klug, eds. The Significance and Regulation of Soil Biodiversity. Plant and Soil 170. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Cavigelli, M. A., and G. P. Robertson. 1999. The functional significance of denitrifier community composition in a terrestrial ecosystem. Ecology (in press).
Collins, H. P., G. P. Robertson, and M. J. Klug, eds. 1995. The Significance and Regulation of Soil Biodiversity. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Also published as Plant and Soil 170:1-241.
Freckman, D.W. and C.H. Ettema. 1993. Assessing nematode communities in agroecosystems of varying human intervention. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Envrionment 45:239-261.
Haack, S.K., H. Garchow, D.A. Odelson, L.J. Forney and M.J. Klug. 1994. Microbial community analysis: accuracy, reproducibility and interpretation of fatty acid methyl ester profiles from model bacterial communities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:2483-2493.
Harris, D. 1994. Analyses of DNA extracted from microbial communities. Pages 111-118 in K. Ritz, J. Dighton, and K. Giller, eds. Beyond the Biomass. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England.
Harris, D., and E.A. Paul. 1994. Measurement of microbial growth rates in soil. Applied Soil Ecology 1:277-290.
Holben, W.E., B.M. Schroeder, V.G.M. Calabrese, R.H. Olsen, J.K. Kukor, V.O. Biederbeck, A.E. Smith, and J.M. Tiedje. 1992. Gene probe analysis of soil microbial populations selected by amendment with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Applied Environment Microbiology 58:3941-3948.
Horwath, W.R., and E.A. Paul. 1994. Microbial biomass. Pages 753-774 in R.W. Weaver, J.S. Angle, P.J. Bottomley, D.F. Bezdicek, M.S. Smith, M.A. Tabatabai, and A.G. Wollum, eds. Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2-Microbiological and Biochemical Properties. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Horwath, W.R., E.A. Paul, D. Harris, J. Norton, L. Jagger, and K.A. Horton. 1996. Defining a realistic control for the chloroform-fumigation incubation method using microscopic counting and 14C-substrates. Can. J. Soil Sci. 96:459-467.
Ka, J.O., P. Burauel, J.A. Bronson, W.E. Holben, and J.M. Tiedje. 1995. DNA probe analysis of microbial community selected in field by long-term 2,4-D application. Soil Science Society of America Journal 59:1581-1587.
Ka, J.O., W.E. Holben, and J.M. Tiedje. 1994. Analysis of competition in soil among 2,4-D degrading bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:1121-1128.
Ka, J.O., W.E. Holben, and J.M. Tiedje. 1994. Genetic and phenotypic diversity of 2,4-D degrading bacteria isolated from 2,4-D treated field soils. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:1106-1115.
Ka, J.O., W.E. Holben, and J.M. Tiedje. 1994. Integration and excision of a 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate acid-degradative plasmid in alcaligenes paradoxus and evidence of its natural intergeneric transfer. Journal Bacteriology 176:5284-5289.
Ka, J.O., W.E. Holben, and J.M. Tiedje. 1994. Use of gene probes to aid recovery and identification of functionally dominant 2,4-D degrading populations in soil. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:1116-1120.
Klug, M.J. and J.M. Tiedje. 1993. Response of microbial communities to changing environmental conditions: chemical and physiological approaches. Pages 371-374 in R. Guerrero and C. Pedros-Alio, eds. Trends in Microbial Ecology, Spanish Society for Microbiology, Barcelona, Spain.
Knoke, K.E. 1997. Assessment of the origin and fate of nitrate from soil lysimeters using stable nitrogen isotopes. M.Sc. Thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Oades, J. M. 1993. The role of biology in the formation, stabilization and degradation of soil structure. Geoderma 56: 377-400.
Paul, E.A. and F.E. Clark. 1996. Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry. 2nd edition. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA. 340 pp
Paul, E.A., D. Harris, M. Klug, and R. Ruess. 1999. The determination of microbial biomass. In G.P. Robertson, D.C. Coleman, C.S. Bledsoe, and P. Sollins, eds. Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research, Oxford University Press, New York (In press).
Paul, E.A., H.P. Collins, D. Harris, U. Schulthess, and G.P. Robertson. 1998. The influence of biological management inputs on carbon mineralization in ecosystems. Applied Soil Ecology 327: 1-13.
Paul, E.A., E.T. Elliott, C.V. Cole and K. Paustian (eds.). 1994. Soil Organic Matter Dynamics in Agroecosystems. Lewis CRC Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida. 500 pp.
Paustian, K., G.P. Robertson, and E.T. Elliott. 1995. Management impacts on carbon storage and gas fluxes (CO2, CH4) in mid-latitude cropland ecosystems. Pages 69-84 in R. Lal, J. Kimble, E. Levine, and B.A. Stewart, eds. Soil Management and the Greenhouse Effect, Advances in Soil Science. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Paustian, K., H.P. Collins, and E.A. Paul. 1997. Management controls on soil carbon. Pages 15-49 in E.A. Paul, K. Paustian, E.T. Elliot and C.V. Cole, eds. Soil Organic Matter in Temperate Agroecosystems: Long-Term Experiments in North America. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Peterson, S.O. and M.J. Klug. 1994. Effects of sieving, storage and incubation temperature on the phospholipid fatty acid profile of a soil microbial community. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:2421-2430.
Robertson, G.P. 1993. Fluxes of nitrous oxide and other nitrogen trace gases from intensively managed landscapes: a global perspective. Pages 95-108 in L.A. Harper, A.R. Mosier, J.M. Duxbury, and D.E. Rolston, eds. Agricultural Ecosystem Effects on Trace Gases and Global Climate Change. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Robertson, G.P., and D.W. Freckman. 1995. The spatial distribution of nematode trophic groups across a cultivated ecosystem. Ecology 76:1425-1432.
Robertson, G. P. and E.A. Paul. 1998. Ecological research in agricultural ecosystems: contributions to ecosystem science and to the management of agronomic resources. Pages 142-164 in M. L. Pace and P. M. Groffman, eds. Successes, Limitations and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science. Cary Conference VII, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Robertson, G. P., K. M. Klingensmith, M. J. Klug, E. A. Paul, J. C. Crum, and B. G. Ellis. 1997. Soil resources, microbial activity, and primary production across an agricultural ecosystem. Ecological Applications 7: 158-170.
Sinsabaugh, R.L., M.J. Klug, H.P. Collins, P.E. Yeager, and S. O. Peterson. 1999. Characterizing soil microbial communities. In G.P. Robertson, C.S. Bledsoe, D.C. Coleman, and P. Sollins, eds. Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research, Oxford University Press, New York (In press).
Stahl, P.D., and T.B. Parkin. 1996. Relationship of soil ergosterol content and fungal biomass. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28:847-855.
Stahl, P.D., and M.J. Klug. 1999. Lipid comparisons of microfungal communities from soils and on different agricultural management practices. Plant and Soil (In press).
Stahl, P.D., and M.J. Klug. 1996. Characterization and differentiation of filamentous fungi based on fatty acid composition. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62:4136-4146.
Tiedje, J.M. 1994. Approaches to the comprehensive evaluation of procaryote diversity of a habitat. In: D.Allsopp, R.R. Colwell, and D.L. Hawksworth (eds) Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Function, CAB International,Wallingford, U.K.
Torsvik, V., J. Goksoyr, F.L. Daae, R. Sorheim, J. Michelsen, and K. Salte. 1994. Use of DNA analysis to determine the diversity of microbial communities. In: Beyond the Biomass. K. Ritz, J. Dighton, and K.E. Diller (eds.) Wiley Sayce, London, England. pp. 39-48
Zhou, J., M.A. Bruns, and J.M. Tiedje. 1995. Rapid method for recovery of DNA from soils of diverse composition. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62:316-322.
Microbial Observatories and Microbial Research at LTER Sites Gary Toranzos and Mathew Kane of NSF, John Vande Castle of LTER Network Office and the principal investigators of the LTER Microbial Observatories
Setting up a food-web manipulation experiment at Crystal Bog in Vilas County, WI (North Temperate Lakes LTER). The water is filtered through various size sieves to remove certain components of the microbial food web.The water is then incubated in containers in the lake to see what effect removal of organisms will have on the bacterial community. In this photo, initial samples of the microbial communities are taken for later comparison.
When the first six LTER sites in the LTER Network were funded in 1980, the idea of studying specific ecosystems at temporal and spatial scales was revolutionary. Currently all 24 LTER sites participate in this endeavor, and there is much interest from LTER networks forming in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and Asia to develop this work further, demonstrating the importance of multiple-scale science initiatives.
Among all existing organisms, prokaryotes are the most numerous and the most ubiquitous, but ironically, the least understood. Their roles in biological processes is virtually unknown. With this in mind, NSF initiated “The Microbial Observatories Program.” The guiding themes of the MO Program (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/ nsf02118/nsf02118.htm) are: the discovery of newly described or poorly understood microorganisms/consortia/communities from diverse habitats, but not simply their discovery—also the exploration of these organisms and their unique genomic, metabolic, ecological and/or evolutionary properties at a particular site or habitat.
In response to this initiative, LTER formed a Subcommittee on Microbial Ecology and drafted a tentative research agenda for LTER-associated MO projects in 1999 (See http://www.lternet.edu/microbial_ecology/). Three years later, it is encouraging to see that eight of the thirty NSF funded Microbial Observatories have been established at LTER sites. LTER sites are “user-friendly” for microbiologists, as data for any Microbial Observatory project can be coordinated with and compared to other data that gathered by LTER participants.
We now know that prokaryotes are the most abundant and ecologically and metabolically diverse forms of life on Earth. Genomic segments have been transferred across the broadest of phylogenetic boundaries, implying that close to its roots, the Tree of Life has more web-like than branch-like connections. The concern over bio-terrorism makes research in microbial ecology very timely. As more robust and sensitive methods are developed to scrutinize prokaryotic biota, we will be better able to understand microbial processes. In this manner within the realm of ecology, microbial processes will no longer be in a “black box.”
The National Science Foundation hosted a workshop for researchers of all the Microbial Observatories 22-24 Sept 2002. Results from the workshop and links to all the LTER Microbial Observatory Projects listed here can be found at: http://www.lternet.edu/microbial_ecology/
Salt Marsh Microbes and Microbial Processes: Sulfur and Nitrogen (Plum Island LTER) John Hobbie Microbial Observatory research at the Plum Island LTER site identifies prokaryotes in salt marsh sediments and plankton and determines their role in controlling major ecosystem processes. They have found that organic materials, probably of algal origin, dominate both sediment organic-carbon composition and bacterial carbon processing in the Spartina marsh. The diversity of ammonia oxidizing bacteria suggest that salinity is a primary factor in driving community structure, and possibly metabolic function, of these organisms in estuarine sediments. Annual patterns of sulfate reducing bacteria diversity in the rhizosphere show persistent populations throughout the growing season while greater variability was seen in unvegetated creek sediments. Mixing of marine and freshwater communities along the salinity gradients result in a third community unique to estuarine waters, which is related to the flushing time of the estuary and to the high productivity of phytoplankton blooms.
A Microbial Observatory for the Northern Temperate Lakes LTER Eric Triplett The research objective at North Temperate Lakes LTER is to characterize the diversity of freshwater microbial populations and their relationship to ecosystem processes in lakes that represent the major trophic types of temperate landscapes: oligotrophic (clear water, few nutrients), humic (brown water, rich in dissolved organic carbon), and eutrophic (nutrient rich, high biomass of algae and bacteria). Their reserach combines molecular methods for describing naturally occurring microbial communities with more traditional measures of microbial processes and microscopic assessments of algal and bacterial populations. During the ice-free period for two successive years, our data reveal that while bacterial community composition within a particular lake can exhibit rapid changes, the greatest variability in BCC was observed between lakes.
Justine Lyons, a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia, retrieves samples at the Sapelo Island Microbial observatory for a project investigating interactions between bacterial and fungal decomposers. (Photo: Mary Ann Moran)
PVC pipe serve as artificial stems to anchor decaying plant material infiltrated with a single fungal species. (Photo: Mary Ann Moran)
Prokaryotic Diversity of a Salt Marsh/Estuarine Complex at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island (Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER) Mary Ann Moran Our efforts focus on the composition and functioning of microbial communities in coastal salt marshes in the southeastern U.S. Research on decomposer communities has uncovered a diverse bacterial community that is physically associated with a low-diversity acomycete-dominated fungal community. These communities vary with season and decomposition stage, but show little spatial heterogeneity in the marsh ecosystem. Gene sequencing approaches to describing microbial communities have revealed considerable ‘microdiversity’ within salt marsh bacterial taxa; the ecological importance of this 16S rRNA microdiversity is not yet well understood, but may be a critical issue for linking microbial structure and function. Sequence data from these and other molecular ecology studies need to be integrated with ecological information about samples, collection conditions, and environmental characteristics. We have constructed a prototype web-accessible public database that links 16S rRNA gene sequences with associated environmental information (http://www.simo.marsci.uga.edu).
Diversity of Nitrogen-Cycling Microorganisms at the H.J. Andrews LTER David Myrold Investigators at the H.J. Andrews hope to determine links between vegetation types and microbial communities, to examine the spatial variability along meadow-to-forest transects, to correlate microbial community structure with nitrogen cycling processes, and identify key and potentially novel nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. Findings indicate that nitrification potentials are consistent along meadow-to-forest transects and only changed significantly after crossing a boundary. Nitrification and denitrification potentials are more than ten-fold higher in the meadow than forest soil, consistent with past studies. Similar shifts are observed in microbial community composition.
Observing Patterns of Prokaryotic Diversity along Land use Gradients of the CAP Fred Rainey The Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) site is investigating changes in bacterial diversity across land use gradients and the ubiquity of certain bacterial groups throughout the compact yet diverse environment. We have found a significant difference in the proportion organisms between urban and desert samples. Using culture-independent tools we have seen distinct shifts of bacterial diversity dependent on land use as well as the discovery of taxa that have the abilities to remain throughout the site.
Spatial Scales of Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity Among Streptomycetes in Native Soils (takes place at Cedar Creek LTER) Linda Kinkel The main objectives for this research is to spatially quantify genetic and phenotypic diversity among the antibiotic-producing microorganisms Streptomycetes. The research also looks at the effects of different plant species on microbial genetic diversity. We know that at CDR, genetically similar organisms tend to be tightly clustered in space and there is a very high diversity of antibiotic activities among Streptomycetes in at all spatial scales. Studies of the resulting antibiotic inhibition and resistance show the inhibition effects increase with soil depth and that organisms were better at inhibiting isolates originating from different locations than from the same location in soil, and the associations of Streptomycetes vary significantly with different plant species.
Microbial Biogeochemistry and Functional Diversity across the Forest-Tundra Ecotone in the Rocky Mountains (Niwot Ridge LTER) Steve Schmidt Microbial studies near Niwot Ridge focus on changes in microbial biogeochemistry and diversity associated with the transition from the snow covered winter period to summer growing season in alpine tundra and sub-alpine forests of the Rocky Mountains. The comprehensive seasonal approach has provides new insight into both microbial diversity and biogeochemical functioning in the highly seasonal environment. They have found a large temporal variation in microbial activity, with pronounced biogeochemical changes evident during snowmelt. The research in general implies that soil microbial communities are very dynamic at any given site.
A Cold Microbial Observatory: Collaborative Research in an Alaskan Boreal Forest Soil (Bonanza Creek LTER) Jo Handelsman A particular interest at Bonanza Creek is the role of microorganisms in the phosphorus cycle and the limitation of phosphorus on ecosystem productivity. The goals are to describe the diversity of the microbial life in the soil and discover mechanisms by which microbes in the soil extract phosphorus from the environment. Preliminary analyses suggest that there is potential for discovering novel bacterial groups and mechanisms of utilization of phosphorus.
- Copyright 2001 Long Term Ecological Research Network - This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement #DEB-9634135. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Please contact webmaster*lternet.edu with questions, comments, or for technical assistance regarding this web site.
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ya, I am pumped up on BUGS, but WOW....
The world wide 10 year market can easily hit Trillions of dollars..Thats right Trillions with a capital T!
When the Microbe industry takes off, you will wish you had a piece..
We are talking about a $.04 a share stock with BUGS...Anything could happen on the long haul, but personaly, I am willing to take the risk..
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
SSWM & BUGS do they compliment or compete with each other?
On the surface it seems that SSWM is the spear head for this new technology....so why BUGS?
-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rasica: SSWM & BUGS do they compliment or compete with each other?
On the surface it seems that SSWM is the spear head for this new technology....so why BUGS?
------------------------------------------------- Go to www.sec.gov type in stock symbol, compare, then make your decision..
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rasica: SSWM & BUGS do they compliment or compete with each other?
On the surface it seems that SSWM is the spear head for this new technology....so why BUGS?
------------------------------------------------- Go to www.sec.gov type in stock symbol, compare, then make your decision..
You make no sense
-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Show me where to go exactly to get this SEC report.
But then again, all I wanted to know was the difference between SSWM & BUGS.
-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Actually Dustoff, this is only your second time and my asking a simple question for a third time.
Your response still makes no sense
So, please disregard my posts, eh?
-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rasica: Actually Dustoff, this is only your second time and my asking a simple question for a third time.
Your response still makes no sense
So, please disregard my posts, eh?
------------------------------------------------- LOL, my friend you did not ask a simple question!
Your question was why buy Bugs instead of SSWM.
Your answer may be within the SEC report..
A fast simplistic anwser could hurt you financialy, thats why I want you to get used to using the SEC Filing..
Compare the two companies, find out everything you can..As you know I am biased towards BUGS..
BUT make your own decision, or maybe just watch the both of them, till ya get a better feel for how these companies are going to spark the imagination of market forces..
Best advice I can give ya? remember the stock market is an ART not just a science.
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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Miracle" Microbes Thrive at Earth's Extremes
John Roach for National Geographic News
September 17, 2004 For the past 30 years scientists have scoured the most inhospitable environments on Earth searching for life. Just about everywhere researchers look, they find it thriving in microscopic form.
These organisms, known as extremophiles, snuggle up to scalding hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. They cling to ice in Antarctica. They burrow in the high deserts of Chile and wallow in salty lake beds of East Africa.
Scientists continue to search for—and find—extremophiles everywhere from volcanic cauldrons in Russia to alkaline waters in China's Inner Mongolia. In the process, researchers are also beginning to tease out the organisms' secrets to life.
"We know that we are only scratching the surface of what is out there. At the same time, many people are trying to decipher how these organisms function," said Kenneth Stedman, a biologist with the Center for Life in Extreme Environments at Portland State University in Oregon.
Earth's most extreme environments are thought to resemble those on distant planets. Discovering organisms that thrive in such conditions broadens our understanding of the limits to life on Earth. Organisms also provide clues on where to search for extraterrestrial life.
Learning how extremophiles thrive has led to a variety of innovations. Scientists have developed novel compounds for the development of new drugs and enzymes that make better laundry detergents, cleaner paper production, and hydrogen for fuel cells.
"Experimentally, we are coming of age," said Frank Robb, a molecular biologist at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore.
Robb is the chair of Extremophiles 2004: Fifth International Conference on Extremophiles, a five-day gathering in Cambridge, Maryland, that begins Sunday. He expects about 320 scientists from around the world to attend the meeting to discuss the latest advances in the field.
Conference
So what constitutes an extremophile? Other than the fact that all extremophiles are microbial, there is no common bond that defines an extremophile, according to Stedman, the Portland State University biologist and a conference co-chair. Rather, the differences that distinguish extremophiles from the more mundane mesophiles (organisms that live in "normal" climates and environmental conditions) are subtle.
By deciphering the genomes of extremophiles, scientists are now making their greatest advances in this field. For example, researchers have identified the subtle differences that allow the cell walls of certain microbes to hold up at temperatures above 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius).
Posts: 10729 | From: oregon | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Originally posted by Rasica: SSWM & BUGS do they compliment or compete with each other?
On the surface it seems that SSWM is the spear head for this new technology....so why BUGS? =============================
Problem here <Dustoff> is I asked why and not instead off. Instead implies a personal investor's deductive reasoning based upon their bias either before or after. Why, connotates the manufacturer's insight into the market place as a need for production.
You have admitted to owning a bias and thats ok, but the rest of us posters here on these boards really do not appreciate being implied as fools as you called it, if we did not research an enforcement site.
See why I said your reply made no sense?
I own stocks in BUGS and I never resorted to going to the enforcement site of SEC. I simply wanted to hear the troubadours of BUGS and hear their enthusiams.
I am sorry that you have misread my post as it hardly called for a facetious reply as going to a government site and/or to be denegrated as a fool if we did not.
This is why I had asked you to ignore my posts on follow ups.
That said, good luck to you on your investment in BUGS and maybe next time we meet, may it be a nicer exchange.
[ October 04, 2005, 22:05: Message edited by: Rasica ]
-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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-------------------- All IMHO. Do not rely upon anything I post to base your financial decisions upon. Posts: 970 | From: Montana | Registered: Jul 2005
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Hey Dust how the heck am I supposed to get back in the low 3's if you and Peaserman keep putting good DD out. Cut it out will ya crap I'm trying to get this stock back down and your screwing it up Im giving you the Razz Graemlin.
Posts: 598 | From: San Jose, CA USA | Registered: Nov 2003
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From atop this hill near the Port of Long Beach, greater Los Angeles splays out through the midsummer haze as a low-rise suburban muddle stitched together by freeways.
But take a closer look: What you knew about sprawl turns out to be wrong.
The urbanized area in and around Los Angeles has become the most densely populated place in the continental United States, according to the Census Bureau. Its density is 25 percent higher than that of New York, twice that of Washington, D.C., and four times that of Atlanta, as measured by residents per square mile of urban land.
And Los Angeles grows more crowded every year, adding residents faster than it adds land, while most metropolitan areas in the Northeast, Midwest and South march in the opposite direction. They are the sprawling ones, dense in the center but devouring land at their edges much faster than they add people.
Odd as it may seem, density is the rule, not an exception, in the wide-open spaces of the West. Salt Lake City is more tightly packed than Philadelphia. So is Las Vegas in comparison to Chicago, and Denver compared to Detroit. Ten of the country's 15 most densely populated metro areas are in the West, where residents move to newly developed land at triple the per-acre density of any other part of the country.
"If you want elbow room, move to Atlanta or Charlotte or the countrified suburbs of Washington," said Robert Lang, director of Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute in Alexandria. "You probably aren't going to get it in the West. There, if you and your neighbor lean out your windows, you can hold hands."
This demographic pattern is having profound effects on housing construction, commuting and the quality of urban life.
In upper-income quarters of metro Los Angeles, density can be an aesthetic kick. When wedded to smart design and careful planning, it is a high-energy stimulant for suburban ennui, luring high-end stores, protecting open space and paying for toll roads that reduce traffic. But in poorer parts of the region, especially where large immigrant families have settled, density is a just fancy word for severe overcrowding.
Ten municipalities in the nation average more than four people per household — and nine of them are in greater Los Angeles, according to the Census Bureau. In these mostly older neighborhoods of tract houses, density has a way of turning garages into illegal apartments, while strangling public schools, overwhelming parks and choking streets with cars. Problems born of overcrowding also have a way of being ignored by politicians, since many residents are illegal or poor or both — and do not vote.
Sprawl sputters to a halt
Open space in the West has always seemed endless. But deserts, mountains, huge tracts of federally owned land and a pervasive lack of water make much of the region unlivable. As such, it has remained the most rural part of the country in terms of land use while becoming the most densely urban in terms of where people live.
Sometime around the early 1980s, greater Los Angeles collided with these unforgiving restraints.
Still, newcomers kept pouring into the Los Angeles Basin, at a rate of about 2 million to 3 million a decade. They had to live somewhere, and many could not afford to settle in — or did not want to drive for hours to — suburbs way out in the desert or on the far side of the mountains.
So sprawl sputtered to an unplanned and unheralded halt. Los Angeles began "densifying dramatically," even at its fringe, according to an analysis of federal population numbers by the Brookings Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.
From 1982 to 1997, as part of a uniquely L.A. phenomenon called "dense sprawl," an average of nine people occupied every acre of newly urbanized land in metropolitan Los Angeles, the Brookings study found. That is nine times the average in Nashville during those years, four times that of Atlanta and three times that of New York.
During these years, both the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles areas gained population at a brisk 30 percent clip. But D.C.'s growth gobbled up rural land at about twice the pace of Los Angeles', the Brookings study found. As a result, D.C. had a 12 percent decline in overall density, compared with a 3 percent gain in Los Angeles.
Illusion of space
To understand how cheek-by-jowl Western living can seem both gracious and roomy, it is instructive to look in on Susan DeSantis. She lives in a three-bedroom town house perched on a ridge of the San Joaquin Hills near the Pacific.
The home shares walls on two sides with neighbors. Yet from its soaring living room, neighbors seem not to exist, hidden behind landscaping that is tended daily by gardeners. From large windows and from the patio, the eye is drawn to the sky, the distant hills and Newport Bay.
"There is light and there is openness," said DeSantis, 55, a consultant in urban planning and a former director of housing for the state of California. "With housing in pods like this, you can get angles for views and privacy. It is the density that allows these design features. I can see my neighbors, if they are out on their patio, but it is very rare."
DeSantis lives in Newport Coast, a gated, master-planned development in Orange County, the nation's most densely populated suburban county. Most of the housing in Newport Coast has been built at a density of about seven units per acre. That leaves nearly 80 percent of the development's 9,493 acres as open space — covered by chaparral, threaded with footpaths and overlooking the sea.
The master plan controls life in Newport Coast with a fussy rigor. It bans mortuaries, union halls and sanitariums for the mentally ill. It permits gazebos, tennis courts and therapy baths. An "opaque screen" must shield all parked cars from arterial highways. "All landscaping shall be maintained in a neat, clean and healthy condition," by order of the master plan.
What it lacks in flexibility, Newport Coast makes up for in convenience. A six-lane road feeds cars in and out of the development so efficiently, DeSantis said, that in the past nine years she has never seen it clogged with traffic. The road connects to a nearby toll highway, part of a regional system of toll roads that cushions many Orange County commuters from the traffic congestion that torments much of the region.
By car, DeSantis is five minutes from the ocean, 10 minutes from high-end shopping and 15 minutes from John Wayne Airport. She can also take commuter rail — a station is about 15 minutes away — to downtown Los Angeles or San Diego. Distances here are measured by time in a car. DeSantis said she has never once walked to a local grocery store, although the nearest one is 10 minutes away on foot.
Newport Coast is the final oceanfront piece in the largest private master-planned development in the United States. Begun in the early 1960s by the Irvine Co., it is eight times the size of Manhattan and covers a fifth of Orange County.
"The Irvine Company persuaded a fairly conservative, mostly Republican market to buy a lot of attached housing by creating a product that was predictable and well-built," said Ann Forsyth, a professor of urban design at the University of Minnesota and author of "Reforming Suburbia," a study of large planned communities. "But none of it is cheap."
Indeed, housing across Orange County is among the most unaffordable in the country. Just one out of 10 households earns the $165,000 a year needed to buy a median-priced house, which cost $702,000 in June, according to the California Association of Realtors. DeSantis bought her town house for $385,000 in 1996. Since then, she says, it has at least doubled in value. If she were buying now, she said, she could not afford Newport Coast.
Infill pioneers
Land for new development in the Los Angeles area is all but unavailable — at any price. Builders, though, have found a way to squeeze new housing into the old urban footprint. It is called "infill" and is widely viewed as the final frontier of home development in Southern California and across the urban West.
Emerson and Darci Fersch, along with their 18-month-old son, Ethan, are infill pioneers. Three years ago, they bought a townhouse on Signal Hill, a hump of once-scruffy industrial land encircled by the city of Long Beach and adjacent to the San Diego Freeway.
It has been dotted with wells ever since oil was discovered on Signal Hill in the 1920s. For much of that time, it has also been known as a dumping ground for machinery and unwanted pets.
"We thought: Wow, we don't want to live there," said Darci Fersch, 44, a legal assistant, recalling her reaction when she heard that middle-class housing was supplanting rubbish on Signal Hill.
But with a child on the way, she and her husband needed more space than they could afford in their beachfront neighborhood in Long Beach. They drove up the hill to take a look and were astonished. "Every last possible spot where someone could possibly stick a house was being improved on," said Emerson Fersch, 41, a financial planner.
Builders such as Bob Comstock, who builds only infill housing, had been busy using BIOREMEDIATION to extract toxic chemicals from soil, outfitting houses with passive in-wall venting for clearing methane and working with an oil company so that new wells and new luxury homes could coexist as next-door neighbors.
"Until we got about halfway through the first phase of construction, the perception was that it was still a dump," said Comstock, whose company is the largest builder on the hill. "But after we started selling, we found that we could sell pretty much every unit in less than two weeks."
Signal Hill offers a rare breed of housing in Los Angeles County — infill with a view. Prices have risen accordingly.
The Fersch family bought their three-bedroom townhouse in 2002 for $385,000. They traded up this spring, selling the townhouse for $680,000 and paying $920,000 for a four-bedroom single-family house perched near the top of the hill.
Poor double up
There is another kind of infill. It occurs — without planning, rubbish removal or construction — when poor people pack into old houses and apartments. This is the single most important reason Los Angeles has become the nation's densest urban area, experts say.
Maria Sanchez is an expert on this kind of housing. She is one of nine members of an immigrant family from Guadalajara, Mexico, that lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Maywood, a one-square-mile patch of southeast Los Angeles County that is the densest city in California and probably the densest city in the West.
This summer, in one of the apartment's bedrooms, Sanchez, 42, is sharing a double bed with her mother and her father, both of them in their late 60s.
Her daughter, Yesenia, 19, sleeps in the second bedroom, along with her boyfriend, Raul, and their 2-year-old son, Raul Jr. In the living room, Sanchez' two sons, Efrain, 28, and Juan, 8, share a sofa bed with one of Sanchez' brothers.
"There is a lot more room for the kids to play back home in Guadalajara, but there is no work," Sanchez said. "We are better off here. We have enough to eat."
Efrain is the family's breadwinner. He makes about $90 a day deboning chickens in a processing plant within walking distance of the apartment.
By Maywood standards, there is nothing exceptional about the Sanchez family's living situation.
The city's white working-class population fled Maywood in the early 1980s and was replaced by Latino immigrants, most of them Mexicans from poor areas. Maywood's sewers, water lines, streets, schools and housing were built in the 1930s to serve a population of about 10,000. There are now at least 30,000 residents.
"It is futile to try to enforce laws against overcrowding," said David Mango, city director of building and planning. "When we go to a house and see six adults living in one room, they say, 'We are just visiting.' "
Squeezed out
The regionwide momentum toward density that has jazzed up life in Newport Coast and transformed Signal Hill from industrial dump to real-estate gold mine is also putting pressure on the Sanchez family.
Maria Sanchez learned a couple of weeks ago that her rent would increase in September, from $650 to $950 a month. She said that that is too much for her family and that she will soon start looking for another place to live.
Since there are no vacant apartments in Maywood that her family can afford, they will probably have to find another immigrant family and double up.
-------------------- Buy Low. Sell High. Posts: 10754 | From: The Land Of The Giants | Registered: Feb 2005
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US Financial Network: CEO of Sub Surface Waste Management provide significant progress report and update at SmallCapVoice.com
Austin, TX, Oct 05, 2005 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc. (OTCBB SSWM) announced that the Company's CEO, Bruce Beattie is featured in an interview by SmallCapVoice.com. The interview covers all of the latest news for SSWM and features management's personal insights into the company's recently released financial figures and progress in Mexico The Web cast is available online at http://www.smallcapvoice.com/sswm/index.html The Mexico operations, under the guidance of Sub-Surface Waste Management continued to generate record-breaking revenues each quarter this fiscal year (up 82% in first 3 months, 129% in six months, and 334% in nine months compared to prior year).
About Sub-Surface Waste Management Sub-Surface Waste Management Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary of U.S. Microbics, Inc. (BUGS - news) and provides comprehensive civil and environmental engineering project management services including specialists to design, permit, build and operate environmental waste clean-up treatment systems using conventional, biological and filtration technologies. SSWM is capitalizing on its patented technologies registered in Mexico with SEMARNAT, a Federal regulatory agency overseeing environmental compliance nationwide.
The information contained in this press release includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements usually contain the words "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," or similar expressions that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the Company's status as a startup company with uncertain profitability, need for significant capital, uncertainty concerning market acceptance of its products, competition, limited service and manufacturing facilities, dependence on technological developments and protection of its intellectual property. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed more fully in the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan of Operation" and other sections of the Company's Form 10-KSB and other publicly available information regarding the Company on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company will provide you with copies of this information upon request.
CONTACT: Alan Kau, Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware Inc Tel: +1 888 795 3166 WWW: http://www.bugsatwork.com
M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info*m2.com
-------------------- Buy Low. Sell High. Posts: 10754 | From: The Land Of The Giants | Registered: Feb 2005
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