First carbon-making microbes discovered

A photo of a shiny grey-silvery lump of solid material in front of a black background

Source: © Shutterstock

Mysterious black material produced by deep sea archaea and bacteria found to be carbon

Deep sea microbes that produce elemental carbon have been discovered by researchers from the US and Germany. While bacteria that degrade elemental carbon have been known for over a century, this is the first time organisms have been found to produce it.