[meteorite-list] Thirsty Bugs Found in Martian-like Desert

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Nov 24 13:15:26 2004
Message-ID: <200411241815.KAA25407_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html

Thirsty Bugs Found in Martian-like Desert
space.com
November 24, 2004

Rain falls in Chile's Atacama Desert every ten years or so --
not exactly prime real estate for living things. But a recent
survey there has found an underground community of microbial
life forms.

NASA scientists use the Atacama as a Mars-like environment to
test out life-detection instruments. There are no plants
whatsoever in the heart of the desert, so one group of
researchers decided to look for signs of past vegetation.

Along a 120-mile stretch of desolate land, the team collected
several soil samples from eight to 12 inches below the surface.
In the laboratory, sterile water was added to the soil. Ten days
later, bacteria were discovered growing in the test tubes.

"We brought'em back alive, it turns out," said Julio Betancourt,
a paleoecologist from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The unusual microbes may survive Atacama's long dry spells in a
state of suspended animation. An earlier search for life in
this desert came up empty, but the soil samples that were
studied came from a shallower depth of four inches.

The lesson for microbe-hunters, said Jay Quade from the University
of Arizona, is: "Don't just scratch the surface."

The results of the study are published in the Nov. 19 issue of
Science.

 
Received on Wed 24 Nov 2004 01:15:18 PM PST