Climate-friendly microbes chomp dead plants without releasing heat-trapping methane

The tree of life just got a little bigger: A team of scientists from the U.S. and China has identified an entirely new group of microbes quietly living in hot springs, geothermal systems and hydrothermal sediments around the world. The microbes appear to be playing an important role in the global carbon cycle by helping break down decaying plants without producing the greenhouse gas methane.

"Climate scientists should take these new microbes into account in their models to more accurately understand how they will impact climate change," said END