830 million-year-old 'mummy' shows where Martian creatures hide

Perfect mummies of ancient microorganisms, which look like they died yesterday, have been revealed in halite crystals from the Protozoic Browne Formation of Central Australia.

Scientists from West Virginia University have found ancient cells of prokaryotes and eukaryotes in protozoan fluids, preserved in the protoplasmic liquid that ancient halite crystals contained. .

Halite is a mineral of sodium chloride (NaCl), also known as matchstone or rock salt. Halite used in the study was obtained from cores of sediment drilled at a depth of 1,481-1,521 m.

Matcha crystals contain "mummies" of ancient creatures

"When halite crystals grow in salty surface waters, it traps this water in a primeval fluid. In addition to "trapping" water, they can "trap" anything in, or near, that water." The Sci-News newspaper quoted Dr. Sara Schreder-Gomes, lead author of the study.

Many microorganisms have accidentally fallen into the "halite trap". Using light lithography - which uses ultraviolet and visible light transmitted through the crystal - the scientists found microorganisms that barely decompose, helping to study each characteristic in detail. of these primitive species.

It can be said that the halite crystal is like a completely closed coffin, plus the salt water contained inside, has turned ancient life into the world's best mummies.

Some crystals have particularly high concentrations of microorganisms and a variety of organic substances of suspected biological origin within.

More specifically, this is how scientists have long believed that Martian life is being preserved. According to NASA studies, Mars once had life a few billion years ago, when it was a blue planet with many oceans like Earth.

However, extreme changes caused the red planet to become extinct. So NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) continuously send probes with the task of hunting for traces of life in ancient sediments. Several NASA rovers have brought back indirect but positive evidence.

This discovery will be an important direction for those missions, as proving halite seems to be the most suitable thing if scientists want to find an alien "mummy". The first thing they need to do is find a place that can contain halite like Central Australia.