To solve that problem, the team looked at existing archaea bacteria in deep-sea vents.

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Scientists have found single-cell archaea bacteria growing at temperatures as high as 234 degrees Fahrenheit at ocean vents on Earth.

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As to importance, when originally identified as distinct, the archaea, too, were regarded as marginal yet their methane-generating properties are now a factor in climate-change calculations.

ECONOMIST: A new domain of life

The culprit, she believes, is a member of archaea known as Methanobrevibacter smithii, which is present in the intestinal tract of about 70% of people, but elevated in about 30%.

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The bug will be based on an archaea called pyrococcus furiosus, first discovered near the hot springs of Vulcano Island, Italy, but it will contain features of three to five other bugs.

FORBES

The toughness of these bugs--which are types of bacteria or archaea called extremophiles--has long attracted researchers hoping to put them to work in industrial settings such as environmental cleanups or fuel production.

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He started combing through the data from the cruise to look for new forms of genes that have, in the past, proved useful in distinguishing bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes from each other, to see if there are any other domains of life out there.

ECONOMIST: A new domain of life

Mathur focused on detecting methane in the breath, since animal studies found that the presence of a certain family of organisms called archaea, which are older than bacteria and colonize the gut, was linked with weight gain and conveniently released small amounts of methane gas.

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