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World's Loneliest Bug Discovered in South Africa

news.bbc.co.uk — A bug which lives entirely on its own and survives without oxygen in complete darkness underground has been discovered in South Africa. Desulforudis audaxviator, or bold traveller as it is known in English, relies on water, hydrogen and sulphate for its energy.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 12, 2008

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  • Sludgehammer, on 10/11/2008, -1/+98I wish people would stop referring to bacteria as bugs, it really confuses the subject. When I read the title, I thought it was talking about insects, until I remembered all the other articles about these bacteria.
  • nurbsenvi, on 10/11/2008, -3/+5840,000 year old virgin.
  • yourgiftsfree, on 10/12/2008, -3/+50Is this the WOW guy?
  • sockpuppets, on 10/12/2008, -1/+22You read that off of the box of Spore didn't you?
  • sockpuppets, on 10/12/2008, -3/+24It's the yeast they could do.
  • netneutrality, on 10/10/2008, -8/+25I always like it when scientists discover life in places thought inhospitable. I believe that where ever life can evolve, it does.
  • DesertTripper, on 10/12/2008, -2/+17Yeah, they refer to it as a 'bug' it'd better have order Hemiptera in its taxonomy or a can of academic whoop-ass is gonna be opened.

    I had a mental image of an insect running around deep in the earth, drinking dilute hydrogen sulphide to survive.

    Now THAT would be something worth writing home about. Cave bacteria are relatively common - they've even been found deep in Lechugilla Caverns, a cave system that (prior to humans discovering it) was totally isolated from the aboveground ecosystem.

    Bacteria can thrive almost anywhere there's water and rudimentary nutrients. They've been found everywhere from almost-boiling hot springs to superheated ocean-floor volcanic vents. Making the jump to complex multicellular organisms takes a lot more than a little H2S, water and heat.
  • cap11235, on 10/12/2008, -0/+10Hardly. There are many different types of anaerobic bacteria, the most famous being yeast.
  • sockpuppets, on 10/12/2008, -3/+13Name it after me. :(
  • m4csrgh3yk3v, on 10/12/2008, -4/+12And now you know why MrBabyMan has an excavation logo.

    Poor guy.
  • otakushark, on 10/12/2008, -1/+7Being that it lacks higher brain functions, it's sure to vote for McCain.
  • christoast, on 10/12/2008, -0/+6if nobody is there, nobody is lonely.
  • Nephrastar, on 10/12/2008, -4/+9So Ronery :[
  • inactive, on 10/12/2008, -0/+4good, don't buy that ***** either, most overrated game of the year
  • Garofoli, on 10/12/2008, -0/+4Well, I think the ability to survive without oxygen is crucial! The fact that life on other planets is extremely possible! Think of the life on planets IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
  • netneutrality, on 10/12/2008, -1/+5Honestly no I didn't. I've never played Spore. Not aware that I've ever seen its box either.
  • sputnike, on 10/12/2008, -0/+3I agree with Sludgehammer - Bacteria and Micro-organisms are not bugs damn it!
  • CatsAreGods, on 10/12/2008, -0/+3Hempteria? Is that like a cafeteria where you smoke pot?
  • TVarmy, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2Well, it needs water. That's a problem, but I'm guessing if there were some sulphate near some water, this thing could live. The article isn't too clear, does the water need to be liquid?
  • DyceFreak, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2its not really an opinionated situation :S... I dont walk around knowing that I have billions upon billions of "bugs" are all over my body... no, even children in grade school knows what bacteria is...
  • TVarmy, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2I created Jeff Goldblum in Spore.
  • stopbrorape, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2The habitat it lives in sounds eerily similar to my mom's basement.
  • dannythepan, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2is this the first bacteria found that doesn't use oxygen?
  • GlassAgate, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2How exactly is the banking crisis going to wipe man off of the face of the Earth?
  • mozert, on 10/12/2008, -0/+2No, a DIGGER
  • Zippo, on 10/12/2008, -1/+2lonely bug is lonely.
  • Zephik, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Its because EA is the most overrated company in the entire existence of mankind.

    Spore SHOULD have been ***** amazing, like the video's before it launched had shown, but EA completely ***** it up. BADLY.
  • specialK16, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1South Africa is a country moron.

    /jk
  • DigitalisAkujin, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Sir,
    Any extremophile is digg worthy.
  • Paulorific, on 10/12/2008, -2/+3lal, he's fat
  • Syric, on 10/12/2008, -1/+2Personally I've never heard bacteria referred to as "bugs" before. Is that a British thing, or have I just been lucky?
  • TheMachine1, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Yeah I actually felt sorry for the guy till I learned he was merely a microorganism.
  • wordglue, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1October 1st, 2008 AD.

    "And for the first time, an insensitive and curious behemoth incurs on my existence. I have been surviving for so many centuries, albeit without memory, but never could I have foreseen such a terrific force excavating me and my brethren with such fascinated alacrity! Could this be...God?"

    this excerpt was found within the Desulforudis Audaxviator's miniscule journal written in doubly microscopic ink.
  • d03boy, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1*ronery
  • ejan, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1As are Clostridium tetani, the bacteria that cause tetanus. Hence why it only grows on rust, where the O2 has reacted with iron.
  • NevaDieENT, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Yea article was 10x more interesting before I clicked the link and found out it was just bacteria... must be the marketing strategy for all these articles, probably wouldn't have clicked it otherwise.
  • bentrinh, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1well technically if it uses atoms it uses oxygen /sarcasm
  • Fluffycheese, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1good things its a bacteria, and can just replicate if it ever gets too lonely...
  • KingGorilla, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1I don't. Every time these discoveries show up it's just another chance for a post apocalyptic movie
  • inactive, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Dugg, articles like these are why I still go to digg.
  • Aurabolt, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1MrBabyBug ?
  • christoast, on 10/12/2008, -1/+1both of you are retarded.
  • Whackly, on 10/12/2008, -3/+2I agree. This isn't the first extremophile bacteria. What's the big deal?
  • aComa, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0...because all atoms are obviously oxygen.
  • imnotlara, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0They spelled Berkeley wrong in this article. Just thought I'd point that out.
  • EarlOfLade, on 10/12/2008, -1/+1Since you are a Digg user....
  • flysmack, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0admirable given what this creature must be subjected too
  • Usemame, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0That's not a bug, it's a creature.
  • Razzberry41, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0Not really because most creatures do not break down water because they use the water as a control for their body, or it's used for Hydrogen Trioxide which is used for neutralizing pH.
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