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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Taimyr bacteria were able to live on Mars


US-Russian group of Scientists found the frozen bacteria of Taimyr bacteria, which can develop in the temperature, pressure and oxygen attentiveness matching to the Martian Atmosphere.

The paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and a summary of its results in Spiegel Online.


Bacteria were isolated from the sand deposits on the right bank of the Kolyma River,with a depth of 12-20 meters. Scientists washed sand samples obtained solution and plated on nutrient-rich Environment. Bacterial colonies were grown at 28 ° C in a normal atmosphere, and only then were tested Martian conditions.

The experiment lasted for 30 days. Of the 10 000 isolates in zero temperature, low oxygen, and the total pressure of 7 million (approximately 150 times lower than the Earth), we're able to grow only six. They were all members of the genus bacteria. Interestingly, one of the strains in these conditions grew even better than at normal pressure and oxygen atmosphere.

According to the authors, these results are important to assess the possibility of life on Mars, and choosing the right direction in its search. Martian conditions, however, are not only the pressure, temperature and low oxygen attentiveness and high levels of radiation. Recently, another group of researchers found that radiation levels at the surface of the red planet is so high that at a depth of not less than 10 centimeters long existence of organic matter.

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