Discovered creatures nearly 1 billion years old, probably still alive

Microorganisms inside ancient rock salt Geology

According to the peer-reviewed report in the journal Geologya team from the University of West Virginia (USA) found a group of microorganisms inside an ancient piece of rock salt trapped in a rock cavity in the Browne sediments of central Australia.

“Even after a considerable amount of time, those microorganisms can still be found,” noted author Sara Schreder-Gomes.

The authors argue that these microorganism These can be pushed against rock salt by water, or they themselves belong to the group of amphiphilic organisms, that is, bacteria that live in extreme conditions. temperature extreme or acidic environment.

After the experiment, the team of experts drew the conclusion that the genetic material inside the rock salt has never been interfered with by outside agents. This means that they are sealed inside the specimen for long periods of time.

They also suggest that the microorganisms may still be alive after nearly 1 billion years, as the team observed them still showing signs of movement.

The new discovery allows humans to hope to find biomarkers inside similar minerals on Mars and bring back to Earth by probes.

Recently, scientists continue to collect more evidence related to water on Mars. A few days ago, the probeChina send impressive panoramas on the occasion of 100 days on Mars”> Zhu Rong of China discovered hydrated minerals on the red planet’s surface.

In the near future, the researchers hope to gather more evidence in an attempt to determine whether Mars Was there ever ancient life?