A unique iron isotope anomaly to identify fossil magnetotactic bacteria

Researchers at the IPGP, in collaboration with colleagues at the Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), and the Nanobactérie company, have discovered an iron isotope anomaly in crystals of magnetites synthesised by magnetotactic bacteria. This isotopic anomaly appears to be specific to these bacteria and should help to identify their fossils in ancient terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks. This work was published in the journal Science.