Gorge Business Journal

Gorge Technology Alliance Presents:
Anna-Louise Reysenback
"Down Into The Deep: Unlocking the Mysteries of Microbes That Eat Heavy Metals and Other Weird Stuff"
Date: Tuesday, May 27
Place: Columbia Center for the Arts, downtown Hood River
Time: 6:30pm
Cost: GTA members are free, Non-members: $10; Students $5;

Movie and talk by world renowned micro-biologist studying acid loving and heat loving microbes that reside in one of the last frontiers on Earth - deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Her research has implications for how we understand life as it has evolved on Earth and the type of signs we need to look for in searching for life elsewhere. Every discovery has the potential for improving life.

As Dr. Reysenback puts it "we've mapped every square foot of Venus, but we have mapped only 1/2 of the deep sea vents." Recently her lab discovered a whole new branch of life. They are working on microbes that break down cellulose into biofuels, and micro organisms that feed on sulfur.

Reysenback's research is funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, and several private companies including Applied Biosystems, known for sequencing the human genome. She is an avid windsurfer and has been coming to the Gorge for many years.

For additional information:
http://venturedeepocean.org/life/discoveries.php

Anna-Louise Reysenbach Bio:

Anna-Louise Reysenbach is a microbial ecologist who grew up in South Africa and did her PhD at the University of CapeTown. During this time she was an avid windsurfer and scuba diver and decided to follow her passion for science and aquatic sports by focusing her research on microbes from high temperature environments. Her work has taken her to most of the terrestrial and deep-sea vent hydrothermal systems in the world, including the discovery of new deep-sea vents in the southern Pacific and Indian Oceans. She has used the research submersibles Alvin (US), Nautile (France) and Shinkai 6500 (Japan), and her current deep-sea research relies heavily on remotely operated vehicles such as Jason II. This summer she will be at sea for over a month using the Jason II to collect samples from deep-sea vents in the mid-Atlantic ridge. Her lab explores the diversity and role thermophiles (heat loving microbes) play in terrestrial and deep-sea hydrothermal systems. Recently, she isolated and grew in a lab the first thermoacidophile (heat and acid loving microbe) from deep-sea vents, which represents a new branch in the Tree of Life.

She has published widely, including Nature and Science. Her research is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. Reysenbach has served on many scientific committees and the editorial boards of several scientific journals. In addition to her professional activities, Dr Reysenbach has been involved in numerous outreach and educational endeavors. In Yellowstone each summer, she teachers a popular 4-day course to the public on Yellowstone's microbes. She has been involved in numerous documentaries that include the Discovery Channel, Public Broadcasting Station (PBS), NOVA, National Geographic and BBC.

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