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Monday, June 04, 2007

Xtreme Life: drinking battery acid and boiling water


Xtreme Life: Scientists have found life in battery acid, methane seeps, and boiling sea vents. If it can survive these extremes on Earth, where else might it exist in our solar system or on any of the hundreds of billions of planets in our galaxy and nearby galaxies.

in the photo: a black smoker

Astrobiologists – scientists interested in the understanding the prospects for life beyond Earth – study life in some of Earth’s most “extreme” environments in order to understand the full range of life’s capabilities and limitations. By comparing these findings to the range of environmental conditions presented by other bodies in the solar system, they identify potentially “habitable” environments beyond Earth.

Deep–Sea Hydrothermal Vents

Recently discovered in 1977, hydrothermal vents, also known as "black smokers", revolutionized our understanding of life. Until the discovery of these vent systems, all known ecosystems on Earth had photosynthetic organisms at the base of their food chain.

However, this particular type of ecosystem is dependent on chemosynthetic bacteria that generate energy from hydrogen sulfide, the chemical responsible for the smell of rotten eggs.

These chemotrophic (chemical eating) bacteria exist in symbiotic relationships with other members of the ecosystem including mussels and 8 foot long tubeworms. These tubeworms have no mouth, gut or anus. Instead, they have a giant organ in the center of their body called a "trophosome". It is filled with symbiotic bacteria that take on all the digestive and excretory functions of the worms.

See photos, videos and learn more about Xtreme Life at San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences either in person or through the Academy's Internet portal.
on Monday, June 04, 2007

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