Current Event Dryden Quigley

Life is Possible

By Dryden Quigley

The remotely operated vessel Jason projects images to scientists of the bottom of the Mediterranean ocean. It was displaying one of the harshest conditioned places on earth: a Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basin or DHAB. The basin is filled with water lacking oxygen and has over 350 times of pressure higher than land. The DHABs can be found around the world but scientists are only beginning to discover hints of life thriving in these locations.

This hunt for life began when scientists found bacteria and archaea living in the basin about 10 years ago. A surprise came recently when in 2009 scientists examined water samples and found DNA of eukaryotes. This was a shock because many scientists thought there was no possibility that higher forms of life such as eukaryotes could live in the Basin. Although, the DNA doesn’t necessarily mean that they are living in the basin because DNA can last for thousands of years and the salty water of the basin is good to preserve it. Two scientists, Edgcomb and Bernhard, decided they wanted to figure out if there really were higher forms of life living in DHABs. The DHABs can stretch from a few yards to miles across and formed between 2,000 and 35,000 years ago when movements of the earth’s crust exposed salt deposits to open seawater. The interfaces are the areas between the DHABs and the seafloor, which are only between one and three yards thick. They are thought to have a range of harsh conditions and for this reason hold many different types of microorganisms. The scientists have recently had a lot of success of taking samples of these interfaces with new types of technology. They were able to record where they took their samples from and carry them back to the surface without the cells degrading. The results have shown that there are many different types of bacteria and eukaryotes. Many of these are new, previously unknown species. This is very unusual because the eukaryotes are living extremely close to each other in the interfaces, but each performing different functions. Another unusual discovery found is that each DHAB has its own type of species. The DHAB can be compared to an island and having many different types of residents but the residents are not able to go from one island to another. The scientists today are still studying where they came from and their survival techniques for surviving in one of the harshest conditions of earth.

The discovery of these new forms of life affects many other parts of science because it changes the aspect on what conditions are needed in order for life to thrive. In an area that was previously thought to have no ekaryotes there were discovered many and even new types of them. In astronomy this means life could be possible on many planets that were previously thought inhabitable. This means that it is more likely to find another planet that could possibly be habitable for humans. The eukaryotes are more advanced than other types of single celled forms of life so single cell life forms could inhabit even harsher conditions.

“The Harshest Habitats on Earth” by Cherie Winner taught about new forms of life being found in Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basins. The article was very detailed and explained complex ideas simply. The way it was written made it easy for me to understand where the discovery was taking place and what new types of life were being discovered. Parts of the article could be summarized in a more efficient manner. Also some points about the types of technology the scientists used were a bit too technical and confusing. I would also condense some of the tiny paragraphs into larger ones but I did like how each section had a heading. The research discussed in this article is important because it changes our assumptions about the conditions necessary for life.

Link: https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/the-most-inhospitable-places-on-earth

Citation:

Winner, Cherie. "The Harshest Habitats on Earth." : Oceanus Magazine. N.p., 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.