How life “finds a way…..“
...in the most extreme environments known to humans
The Two Frontiers Project (2FP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing human and studying the environment by expedition-based exploration of microbial diversity in and between humanity’s greatest frontiers: the oceans and space.
We leverage the diversity of life in extreme environments to address major societal challenges, including changing environmental conditions, coral reef bleaching, and sustainable agriculture. Learn more about our Core Values, and why we do what we do, by clicking below.
We currently have three primary research initiatives.
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With expeditions spanning three continents, from marine volcanic seeps to carbon dioxide springs in the Rocky Mountains, we are discovering carbon-capturing organisms that can efficiently reduce carbon gas outputs.
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As we currently undergo another worldwide mass bleaching event, we need more tools to protect our reefs. In our Coral Initiative, we do so by sequencing, culturing, and deploying microbial communities to enhance coral restoration methods and reef resilience to disease and heat-stress.
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Our most recent initiative, with an expedition to the Mojave Desert, is dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Funded by NASA, we are seeking microbes that help plants grow in stressful, desertified environments on and off this planet, with the aim of eventually growing crops in lunar soil.
Each involves exploring and sampling some of the most extreme environments of the world.
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CITIZEN SCIENCE
Every human should have the chance to contribute to the fight against climate change. As part of our Carbon Initiative, we are piloting a citizen science program with another 501(c)(3) partner, CitSci, to launch a national sampling campaign within the US. The initial campaign will enable anyone to learn about and collect microbial samples from “the extremophiles in their homes.”
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THE 2FP LIVING DATABASE
Each of our core research initiatives involves characterizing the microbial life in diverse ecosystems using standardized, low-cost approaches. We store every sample we take in a “living database,” which contains both living organisms and paired DNA sequencing data. We are dedicated to Open Science, enabling this resource to be available to the entire research community.
We're still building our LDB web portal -- if you want to learn more or request data, reach out in our contact section. Otherwise, you can click the link below to look at some of our other open source projects.
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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
We are dedicated to building global research capacity. The 2FP has low-cost, modular educational programs designed for anyone from the general public, undergraduate and high school students, other scientists, and even government officials. Using our standardized sampling kits, we can train anyone -- from high school students to government officials -- to use our methods.