A Laboratory Experiment with Relevance to The Survival of Micro-Organisms Entering a Planetary Atmosphere

A culture of E. coli was initially subjected to brief exposures to heat for durations of 30–60 s, starting with a temperature of 270 ^°C. A stepwise increase of this temperature from 270 ^°C–750 ^°C and a sequential culturing led to the emergence of a strain of this bacterium with a much higher resistance to flash heating than the original culture possessed. This behaviour would have an important relevance to the survival of micro-organisms upon entering a planetary atmosphere. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.