Vanessa Helmbrecht
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sciencewithvanessa.bsky.social
Vanessa Helmbrecht
@sciencewithvanessa.bsky.social
PhD student working on the emergence of life in hydrothermal environments on Earth and Enceladus - LMU Munich // Landscape photographer // Firefighter

Reposted by Vanessa Helmbrecht
Light and Fluorescence Microscopy revealed that the archaea gathered near the chimney particles. Surprisingly, growth rates in the chemical gardens, where the archaea received no additional nutrients or vitamins, nearly matched those in ideal lab conditions.
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May 20, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by Vanessa Helmbrecht
The archaea used the H₂, which was abiotically formed during the formation of the chimneys, to produce methane. This process is powered by the ancient acetyl-CoA pathway — a metabolism so efficient it’s been called “a free lunch you’re paid to eat.”
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May 20, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by Vanessa Helmbrecht
To investigate this, researchers recreated early Earth conditions. Since many modern archaea inhabit hydrothermal vents, they built mini versions using a method called chemical garden simulation: injecting sulfidic fluid into a ferruginous solution to form small black iron-sulfide chimneys.
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May 20, 2025 at 9:32 AM