Vol. 36 No. 1 (2019): February
Historic Note

Real time history of 21st century bacteria: giants and martians

Walter Ledermann
Centro de Estudios Humanistas Julio Prado

Published 2019-04-05

How to Cite

1.
Ledermann W. Real time history of 21st century bacteria: giants and martians. Rev. Chilena. Infectol. [Internet]. 2019 Apr. 5 [cited 2025 Nov. 26];36(1). Available from: https://revinf.cl/index.php/revinf/article/view/390

Abstract

We denominate “21st century bacteria” two types of strange and amazing creatures from the kingdom Protista, discovered between the last years of the twentieth and the present days: the giant bacteria and those with a possible Martian origin. Searching for them, bold investigators have travelled to distant and hostile lands, desolate places and deep waters, performing a kind of investigation that we only can describe as “investigation-adventure”. This paper presents expeditions to the Red Sea, fishing the Epulopiscium; to Lake Mono, searching a bacteria able to growth with arsenic; to the Antarctic Circle, finding a meteorite with petrified alien microorganisms; and… to the quiet laboratory, a not less dangerous place.