Concrete cracking is regarded as one of the foremost factors posing a long-term safety threat
to the durability of structures. Recently, microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation …

The arid soils of the Antarctic Dry Valleys constitute some of the oldest, coldest, driest and
most oligotrophic soils on Earth. Early studies suggested that the Dry Valley soils contained …

Pyrosequencing-based 16S rRNA gene surveys are increasingly utilized to study highly
diverse bacterial communities, with special emphasis on utilizing the large number of …

Concrete can be considered as a kind of artificial rock with properties more or less similar to
certain natural rocks. As it is strong, durable, and relatively cheap, concrete is, since almost …

To understand how planet Earth works we study it increasingly as a system–a collection of
interdependent parts or spheres–the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the …

Recent applications of molecular genetics to edaphic microbial communities of the McMurdo
Dry Valleys and elsewhere have rejected a long-held belief that Antarctic soils contain …

The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold hyperarid polar desert that present
extreme challenges to life. Here, we report a culture-independent survey of multidomain …

Drying to equilibrium with the air kills nearly all animals and flowering plants, including
livestock and crops. This makes drought a key ecological problem for terrestrial life and a …

The phenomenon of self healing in concrete has been known for many years. It has been
observed that some cracks in old concrete structures are lined with white crystalline material …

Even though technological advances could allow humans to reach Mars in the coming
decades, launch costs prohibit the establishment of permanent manned outposts for which …