December 02, 2010
Media Advisory -- Expert Available
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Michael T. Madigan, professor and distinguished scholar in the Department of Microbiology, is available for interviews regarding the announcement today (Dec. 2) by NASA of the discovery of a microbe based on arsenic.
Madigan was part of a team of researchers that two years ago discovered an ancient form of photosynthesis that used arsenic instead of water or other substances to achieve that process. Madigan conducted his research from samples collected at California’s Mono Lake, an alkaline water body where NASA also made its recent finding regarding life forms that use arsenic to live.
Madigan can be reached at 618/453-5130 or at madigan@micro.siu.edu.
A news release regarding Madigan’s previous work and its publication in the journal Science can be found at http://news.siuc.edu/news/August08/082008tjc8088.html