Karen Lloyd (@archaearama) is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee and lead of the Lloyd Lab. She’s a deep subsurface microbiologist investigating novel types of microbes in Earth’s deep surface biosphere, collecting them from remote places such as Arctic fjords, volcanoes in Costa Rica and even deep in a mud near the Mariana Trench to explore how these little critters affect the environments on a micro and macro scale. I’m guessing this research will have major impacts on our knowledge of life in extreme conditions and implications for humanity living off Earth, fighting climate change and much more…
In today’s episode we discuss:
- Life under the sea and what we’re learning about the tree of life
- How some organisms and microbes slow down life and seem to live forever
- Why the deep sea is an untapped, unexplored goldmine
- What you should know about climate change, ocean currents, and catastrophe
- The reason the seas may hold the secret to extraterrestrial life
- What Karen thinks about climate change and sustainability
- Why CRISPR was in some ways enabled by oceanic research
- What it’s like to dive deep in a submarine and experience warp drive
- The troubling trends of anti-science movement in the US government
- Why we know less about our oceans than we do about space
- The importance of fundamental research and science
