Found life on Mars?

Analysis of DNA samples in volcanic regions like Mars of South America showed that a group of archaea bacteria, fungi and bacteria not only survived there, but also received energy in some way. until now the scientific world has not yet discovered it.

Researchers are looking for microorganisms capable of surviving in the toughest soil environments on earth that have found some types of such special abilities.

'We have not officially discovered or described these microorganisms. But what we found differs from anything that was previously described , " said Ryan Lynch, a microbiologist at Colorado University (USA).

Genetically, the microorganisms' DNA was found to be at least 5% different from the stored database of 2.5 million gene sequences. This data warehouse is an almost comprehensive collection of bacteria, and researchers around the world have added to this database every time they publish articles about organisms.

Atacamavolcanois extremely similar to Mars's environment.(Source: Capitolcolumn)

Life rarely has the opportunity to arise on the steepest slopes of the most volcanic mountains at Atacama, where Lynch and colleagues collect research samples. Here, heavy snow fell on cold days and picked up even more in the air after touching the ground. The soil is also poor in nutrients to the point where the amount of nitrogen collected in the soil samples is lower than the detection level.

The amount of ultraviolet radiation in the place is twice as high as that in the desert area. When scientists were collecting samples, the temperature dropped to -10 degrees Celsius at night, and 56 degrees Celsius during the day.

Therefore, why organisms can reproduce in such harsh conditions is still a big mystery. Although Lynch and colleagues searched for genes involved in photosynthesis, and looked at cells with fluorescence techniques to search for chlorophyll, they still could not find evidence that the bacteria were that can photosynthesize.

With the rugged terrain, the thin atmosphere and high radiation, the Atacama volcanoes are extremely similar to Mars's environment. Therefore, scientists believe that the similarity shows that it is very likely that microorganisms can also exist on the red planet.