#KUFieldWorks: Studying microbes to understand possibility of life on other planets

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A team of KU researchers led by Ben Sikes, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, is studying microscopic organisms in extreme environments to see if life is possible beyond Earth. The team’s primary research question is whether microbial communities adapted to extreme environments are more resilient to space-like stresses. The team conducted field collections in the Mojave National Preserve and in the High Rocky Mountains of Colorado.