Thousands of bacterial species discovered in oceans (CBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

The oceans could be teeming with 10 to 100 times more types of bacteria than thought, say scientists who are studying what role the tiny organisms play in sustaining life.

The international team of researchers concluded that there are more than 20,000 different microbial species in one litre of seawater taken from deep in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The team used a new technology that distinguishes organisms using short bits of their genetic code.
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Many of the microbes differ from anything scientists had seen before, said study co-author Julie Huber, who also works at the lab.
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The study, released Monday, is part of the global Census of Marine Life — a decade-long project to map all marine life.

"It's similar to when astronomers used to only be able to look at certain parts of the sky," said Huber. "And when Hubble came on, they were able to see … the whole universe."
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more: http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/07/31/ocean-microbes.html

[jpak]

1. There are ~1 billion bacteria in a liter of (surface) seawater

and more than 10^28 bacterial cells in the entire ocean.

People have been investigating the genetic diversity of marine prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) for more than a decade now.

This paper is going to raise some eyebrows...

[Kiteflyer]

2. This paper is going to raise some eyebrows...

...my upper lip is quivering!