Linking fossil climate proxies to living bacteria helps climate prediction

Lipids, or fat molecules, which are the building blocks of microbial skins, can be preserved as fossils that reveal details about how these organisms once lived. According to Sahoner, a number of microbial lipids are frequently utilised to recreate historical climates. They have always been shrouded in mystery since we don't know what bacteria produce them or under what circumstances. The ability of these molecules to forecast prior environmental circumstances is constrained by this lack of knowledge. Her research now demonstrates which bacteria produce these lipids as well as how they have modified their lipid skin to react to environmental changes, which is another step toward more accurately recreating and forecasting climate change.