For decades, scientists have wrestled with rival theories to explain how interactions between species, like competition, influence biodiversity. Tracking microbial life across the planet, researchers from McGill University show that biodiversity does in fact foster further diversity in microbiomes that are initially less diverse. However, diversity rates plateau with increased competition for survival and space in more diverse microbiomes.

Classified as: microbiome, biodiversity, loss, microbial life, diversity begets diversity, Jesse Shapiro, Sustainability
Published on: 3 Feb 2021

Scientists tackle the question of what kinds of life might reside now on the Red Planet, and how we might find it.

Last week NASA convened a visionary meeting in New Mexico to consider a topic critical to astrobiology—whether life currently exists on Mars, and if so, how to detect it. The site of the conference was near the world-renowned Carlsbad Caverns, which attendees got to visit during a mid-conference workshop.

Classified as: Life on Mars, microbial life
Published on: 14 Nov 2019

Failure to find active microbes in coldest Antarctic soils has implications for search for life on Mars

Natural Resource Sciences professor Lyle Whyte and postdoctoral fellow Jackie Goordial talk about their research which suggests that it is unlikely that it is unlikely that there is any microbial life to be found on Mars.

Classified as: NASA, Mars, Antarctic, Arctic, lyle whyte, science and technology, microbial life, permafrost soil, Phoenix landing site, ecosystem
Published on: 19 Jan 2016

By Katherine Gombay, McGill Newsroom

Failure to find active microbes in coldest Antarctic soils has implications for search for life on Mars

Classified as: NASA, Mars, Antarctic, Arctic, lyle whyte, science and technology, microbial life, permafrost soil, Phoenix landing site, ecosystem
Published on: 19 Jan 2016
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