GP already mentioned cyanobacteria, which are quite common (algae blooms are mostly cyanobacteria).
They metabolize CO2 through photosynthesis with energy from our star, releasing O2.
As far as I know these cyanobacteria are the ancestors of plants, with a common hypothesis being that protozoa like amoeba ate those cyanobacteria, which created evolutionary pressure on the bacteria. Those developed defense mechanisms that allowed them to stay alive within the amoeba by providing it with nutrients and being
And nuclear fission is needed to create Oxygen. But at no point does this organism use O2 molecules, and that is a very big deal as never seen before in a multi-cellular organism. As is the lack of mitochondria, if I understand correctly, though that has been seen in unicellular Eukaryotas before.
It is a big deal.
It's a eukaryote that lacks the machinery to do cellular respiration.
Maybe it uses host ATP for that, maybe it uses something else... They don't know yet.
At the base, all life on Earth requires some amount of O2 to exist, because our DNA is made from it.
That doesn't mean we need much of it on an ongoing basis.
Think anaerobic bacteria. But multicellular, and eukaryotic.
Definitely a novel thing.
We don't generally say anaerobic bacteria require oxygen to survive, so this does not either
Are there really any truly self-sufficient organisms (that we know of)?
All organisms require energy and nutrients, but there are many that do not rely on other lifeforms.
Examples: cyanobacteria, thermophilic archaea
They metabolize CO2 through photosynthesis with energy from our star, releasing O2.
As far as I know these cyanobacteria are the ancestors of plants, with a common hypothesis being that protozoa like amoeba ate those cyanobacteria, which created evolutionary pressure on the bacteria. Those developed defense mechanisms that allowed them to stay alive within the amoeba by providing it with nutrients and being
In the end O2 is still needed
And nuclear fission is needed to create Oxygen.
But at no point does this organism use O2 molecules, and that is a very big deal as never seen before in a multi-cellular organism.
As is the lack of mitochondria, if I understand correctly, though that has been seen in unicellular Eukaryotas before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
It's like in the 18th century when we thought we had a good idea of what mammals were, then along comes the platypus.
It's a eukaryote that lacks the machinery to do cellular respiration.
Maybe it uses host ATP for that, maybe it uses something else... They don't know yet.
At the base, all life on Earth requires some amount of O2 to exist, because our DNA is made from it.
That doesn't mean we need much of it on an ongoing basis.
Think anaerobic bacteria. But multicellular, and eukaryotic.
Definitely a novel thing.
We don't generally say anaerobic bacteria require oxygen to survive, so this does not either
The force is weak in this one.
That's what Enrico Fermi said. He was a Jedi.