http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html
Thirsty Bugs Found in Martian-like Desert space.com November 24, 2004 Rain falls in Chile's Atacama Desert every ten years or so -- not exactly prime real estate for living things. But a recent survey there has found an underground community of microbial life forms. NASA scientists use the Atacama as a Mars-like environment to test out life-detection instruments. There are no plants whatsoever in the heart of the desert, so one group of researchers decided to look for signs of past vegetation. Along a 120-mile stretch of desolate land, the team collected several soil samples from eight to 12 inches below the surface. In the laboratory, sterile water was added to the soil. Ten days later, bacteria were discovered growing in the test tubes. "We brought'em back alive, it turns out," said Julio Betancourt, a paleoecologist from the U.S. Geological Survey. The unusual microbes may survive Atacama's long dry spells in a state of suspended animation. An earlier search for life in this desert came up empty, but the soil samples that were studied came from a shallower depth of four inches. The lesson for microbe-hunters, said Jay Quade from the University of Arizona, is: "Don't just scratch the surface." The results of the study are published in the Nov. 19 issue of Science. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
