extremophile
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Earth’s Most Barren Spot Found Bursting With Microbial Activity, Boosting Search for Life on Mars
The Atacama Desert—an arid, unpopulated swath of northern Chile that is home to some of the most perceptive ground telescopes on Earth—is actually teeming with life beneath the ground, according to a team of researchers that recently scrutinized its soils. As LiveScience reminds us, scientists have already found microbial life under the desert’s surface. What…
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Clouds on Venus Are Too Dry to Sustain Life as We Know It, New Research Suggests
Venus is now the hottest planet in the solar system in more ways than one, as scientists buzz over three newly announced missions to explore it, while debate continues over whether a biosignature exists within its clouds. But as new research today shows, Venus has an atmosphere that’s way too dry to support even the…