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    Oasis of Tiny Life Discovered Beneath Desert

    A test run for a biological detector intended for Mars has found salt-loving microbes living just below the surface of the Atacama Desert in North Chile.

    Scientists from Spain and Chile used an instrument called SOLID (Signs of Life Detector), which they developed for Mars missions, to detect the microbial life in the desert. Atacama subsoils are thought to be a good stand-in for areas on the Red Planet.  

    The soil between 6.6 and 9.8 feet (2 and 3 meters) below the surface of the desert contained a "microbial oasis," Victor Parro, a researcher from the Spanish Center of Astrobiology and the study's coordinator, said in a statement.

    By analyzing less than 0.02 ounces (0.5 grams) of sample material they collected, the team found bacteria, other single-celled microbes called archaea, as well as biological material, including DNA, which forms the instruction code for life. [Amazing Photos: The Little Things in Life]

    The ground they sampled was rich in rock salt, also known as halite, and other compounds that are highly hygroscopic, meaning they absorb water. On the surface of the salt crystals, minutely thin films of liquid form from the limited moisture in the air by a process called deliquescence. These appear to provide water for the microbes, according to the team.  

    Similar water-absorbing salts, and possibly deliquescence, have been discovered on Mars, they point out. The performance of the life-detecting sensor, called LDChip, within SOLID demonstrates its potential for use in planetary exploration, particularly on Mars, they write recently in the journal Astrobiology.   

    You can follow LiveScience senior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

     

    31 comments

    • Bill  •  3 mths ago
      When they finally establish communications, the microbes will probably start calling us "ugly bags of mostly water."
    • Richard R  •  Paradise Valley, Nevada  •  3 mths ago
      Our years are but a pico second in the universe. If we do not figure out how to mine other planets and migrate to other planets the human race is doomed--and at the rate of reproduction and war--it wont be all that long. We, the human race, already have the technology, we just dont have the will. We would rather fight about which religion is the only religion or who will get the BOMB next or how a Government runs the lives of its citizens or in the case of Syria-how many they can kill so one man can stay in power.
      • BILLY 3 mths ago
        The gov has already figured out how to keep the pop in check ,birth control and war
      • docvet 3 mths ago
        Actually, I wish we had a way to transport people and material to other planets efficiently. Those who think that humans are evil, that aardvarks and boa constrictors have priority on this planet and those who want to minimize their effect on the planet could get their own planet and see how all that works out. My guess is that within a few generations, the cooking roots around a little campfire and trying to make friends with the carnivorous wildlife will get old.
      • ghostboy 3 mths ago
        As harsh as it sounds, ya gotta figger that half the world's probllems could be solved just by putting birth control in the water...
        just sayin...
    • abhorrent behavior  •  St Louis, Missouri  •  3 mths ago
      I myself am a salt loving microbe
    • Joshua  •  3 mths ago
      That's cool! When you look hard enough, you'll find something worthwhile. Nice to see that life can adapt to the harshest conditions.
      • myAmerica 3 mths ago
        Quick lets register them to vote!!
    • Solar Child  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      This IS a substantial discovery in that life can maintain itself if only on the microbial level given the facts of limited nutrients. This find increases the probablity that we will eventually discover life on other worlds.
    • Scootter  •  Troy, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      There is water on most planets and there is some form of life where there is water. The Earth is not the center of the universe . Mankind is not the only advanced form of life . Life is not confined to only this planet. Science makes no statement about religion pro or con. It is religion that is at odds with science. If superstition were removed from the public psyche than science would advance to beautiful heights.
      • Milton 3 mths ago
        Well spoken.
      • Don 3 mths ago
        deception at it's best
      • Michael M 3 mths ago
        Many of our astronauts and NASA scientists were religious people. Religion doesnt block people from advanced scientific study. Some "people" from within might do so, for personal purpose or gain.
    • guaranteed  •  3 mths ago
      My Sensei once said,"You know nothing of life grasshopper." He was right. The world is as ignorant of what is all around them as I was then.
    • myAmerica  •  3 mths ago
      Cool. That is a nice piece of tech.
    • Eric1  •  3 mths ago
      They have the wrong acronym. It should be 'SOLD,' not 'SOLID.' In any case, it is too bad this technology didn't make it onto the latest Martian explorer mission... Or DID it?
    • James  •  3 mths ago
      Why don't we just admit it now? There is life everywhere. Have we explored a single hostile environment on Earth that hasn't shown signs of supporting some kind of life? Even if Mars is sterile, there are several other candidates in our solar system that could easily be supporting life as we know it. The universe is alive!

      Is there life in the universe?
      Yes, there's life in the universe!
      We'll find God in the universe.
      We'll find God but we'll find life first!
      Marching to Mars, Sammy Hagar
      • Chuck 3 mths ago
        SOLID (Signs of Life Detector); Please send it to Washington DC.
      • Don 3 mths ago
        soild would be more like it = signs of intelligent life detector?
    • Waldo  •  Chattanooga, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      Life will find a way........
    • Y-hoo Sucks Donkey D-ck  •  3 mths ago
      If they do find life on Mars, what will the relgious nuts have to say about that?
    • Dean  •  Livingston, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      now if they could just find life in congress
    • Steven  •  3 mths ago
      Most students of elementary science will know of extremophiles--microbial life thriving in extreme environments. The tardigrade--a hardy creature if ever there was one--is my favorite. Moving from microbial creatures to animate creatures is still a huge step. Still a fascinating article.
    • Joel  •  3 mths ago
      Why is this a surprise? The earth itself is an oasis of life.
    • Mitch  •  3 mths ago
      I thought they meant they found an oasis filled with tiny chinchillas, foxes & cats and little tiny trees and maybe even liliputian people under the desert.... sheesh!
    • Don  •  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      in a song the a horse with no name the verse; the desert is an ocean with the perfect disguise above, is so correct.
    • Professor Brad  •  3 mths ago
      Wouldn't it be easier and faster to just ask the Martians about all life-forms on their planet?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
    • Edwin  •  3 mths ago
      why are we using detectors developed by spain and chile in NASA missions to the moon. We have scientists unemployed here and NASA is a Government agency.
    • Chuck  •  3 mths ago
      Go to Washington DC. Their is an oasis of the worlds tiniest minds.
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