Aug 12, 2010
Lake may offer clue to Mars

 GALAN VOLCANO (ARGENTINA) - A LAKE in Argentina's remote, inhospitable north-west may offer clues on how life got started on Earth and how it could survive on other planets, scientists say.

Researchers have found millions of 'super' bacteria thriving inside the oxygen-starved Lake Diamante, in the centre of a giant volcanic crater located over 4,700 metres above sea level.

The bacteria's habitat is similar to primitive earth, before living and breathing organisms began wrapping a protective atmosphere of oxygen around the planet. The conditions - which include high arsenic and alkaline levels - could also shed light on life beyond Earth.

'This is of great scientific interest as a window to look to our past and also for a science called astrobiology, the study of life on other planets,' said Maria Eugenia Farias, part of the team that discovered the life-forms in Lake Diamante earlier this year. If bacteria can survive here, the theory goes, it could also survive somewhere like Mars.

So-called 'extremophiles' have been found in other parts of the world - and they can have significant commercial value. Bacteria that break down lipids are used in detergents for example. But Ms Farias said these bacteria, called 'polyextremophiles' are exceptional because they flourish in the harshest of circumstances.

'What we have here is a series of extreme conditions all in one place. And this is what makes this place unique in the world,' said Ms Farias, a microbiologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Tucuman province. -- REUTERS

 

hm

nah besi cair di inti planet mars telah membeku beberapa ratus juta tahun setelah proses terjadinya hujan air pertama di sana, sehingga tak mampu lagi melindungi planetnya dari debu matahari dan membuat suasana makin tidak kondusif bagi makhluk hidup...

Teori dinamo untuk medan magnet ya. Tapi, mungkin maksud anda bukan debu matahari, tapi angin matahari.