Key ingredient in coronavirus tests comes from Yellowstone’s lakes. A curious life-form that lives in the park’s thermal pools makes a protein that changed the course of biomedical history.

The benefits of basic scientific study take time, even decades after an initial finding. Research cuts will hinder our progress.

For example, the PCR test — widely in use during the COVID-19 pandemic to check for the virus’s presence — requires an enzyme that was first found in a thermophile called Thermus aquaticus.

In 1969, along with the microbiologist Thomas Brock, I discovered the bacterium Thermus aquaticus in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park; it had no practical application then.

He recalls the jolt of excitement the first time he looked through a microscope and saw one of those microbes, Thermus aquaticus, growing at a temperature previously thought impossible. “I got ...

For example, Thermus Aquaticus thrives in extremely high temperatures, and psychrophiles live in extreme cold. The tardigrade genome, for example, is a rich source of information, ...

- Thermus aquaticus, a thermophilic archaea thriving in hot springs above 70°C (158°F). The result? A new strain, named theliograd (for tardi-helio-grad), which reportedly survived laboratory tests ...

Photodisc Both sides claim partial victory in the latest phase of a long-running patent fight over a widely used DNA-replicating enzyme. The case presents fascinating legal issues, but the ultimate ...

Back in 1969 microbiologist Thomas Brock and his undergraduate research assistant Hudson Freeze journeyed to Yellowstone and discovered a new bacteria species, which they named Thermus aquaticus ...

Other, lower-key extremophile species include the esoterically famous Thermus aquaticus, the first organism recorded to survive temperatures > 80 °C (176 °F) by producing heat-resistant proteins that ...

Scientists have found certain microbes living in microwave ovens, offering insights into biological processes, industrial applications, and potential extraterrestrial life.