In a Mexican cave system so beautiful and hot that it is called both Fairyland and hell, scientists have discovered life trapped in crystals.
The bizarre microbes were found dormant in caves in Naica, Mexico, and survive by living on minerals such as iron and manganese, said Penelope Boston, head of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute.
“It’s super-life,” said Boston, who on Friday presented the discovery at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in the city of Boston.
If confirmed, the find is yet another example of how microbes can survive in extremely punishing conditions.
Though it was presented at a science conference and was the result of nine years of work, the findings have not yet been published in a scientific journal and have not been peer reviewed.
Boston has planned more genetic tests for the microbes she revived both in the lab and on site.
The life forms — 40 different strains of microbes and even some viruses — are so strange that the most similar organisms are still 10 percent different genetically.
The Naica caves — an abandoned lead and zinc mine — are 800m deep. Before drilling occurred by a mining company, the mines had been completely cut off from the outside world. Some were as vast as cathedrals, with crystals lining the iron walls. They were also so hot that scientists had to don cheap versions of space suits to prevent contamination with outside life and had ice packs all over their bodies.
Boston said the team could only work for about 20 minutes at a time before ducking to a “cool” room that was about 38oC.
NASA would not allow Boston to share her work for outside review before Friday’s announcement, so scientists could not say much.
However, University of South Florida biologist Norine Noonan, who was not part of the study, but was on a panel where Boston presented her work, said it made sense.
“Why are we surprised?” Noonan said. “As a biologist, I would say life on Earth is extremely tough and extremely versatile.”
It is not the only strange life Boston is examining. She is also studying microbes commonly found in caves in the US, Ukraine and elsewhere that eat copper sulfate and seem to be nearly indestructible.
“It’s simply another illustration of just how completely tough Earth life is,” Boston said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was