Sommer, Andrei P.Miyake, NorimuneWickramasinghe, N. C.et al.2012-03-282012-03-282004-11-17http://hdl.handle.net/11007/1645Nanobacteria or living nanovesicles are of great interest to the scientific community because of their dual nature: on the one hand, they appear as primal biosystems originating life; on the other hand, they can cause severe diseases. Their survival as well as their pathogenic potential is apparently linked to a self-synthesized protein-based slime, rich in calcium and phosphate (when available). Here, we provide challenging evidence for the occurrence of nanobacteria in the stratosphere, reflecting a possibly primordial provenance of the slime. An analysis of the slime’s biological functions may lead to novel strategies suitable to block adhesion modalities in modern bacterial populations.enNanobacteriaLiving nanovesiclesPrimordial proteinsAtmosphereArticle