1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bugle Bomb here with a classic episode 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: for you today. Traditionally, it's been thought that liquid water 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: was necessary to sustain life as we know it, but 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,080 Speaker 1: some research has indicated that that might not be the case. 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: I'll let former Lauren explain, Hey their brain Stuff Lauren 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: Vogel bond here. Life's resilience keeps astounding us. Unimaginable as 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: it may seem, there's a thriving population of microorganisms in 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: the cold, dry, nutrient poor soils of Antarctica. A study 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: may have just revealed the secret to their survival, and 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: that revelation could transform our quest to find life on 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: other planets. Antarctica is a continent which famously goes dark 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: for months on end during the winter season, a period 14 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: in which it sees no sunlight. This presents a big 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: challenge to organisms who need to photosynthesize, that is, convert 16 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: solar light into food. Intense dryness is another hurdle. Certain 17 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: parts of the continent received no precipitation whatsoever, and even 18 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: though Antarctica is covered in ice, drinkable water is scarce. 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: And then we have the issue of carbon all known 20 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: life is based on this element, and yet very little 21 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: of it can be found in Antarctic dirt. But life 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: uh finds a way. For years now, biologists have known 23 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: about the existence of diverse bacteria communities in Antarctica's soils. 24 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: How could anything survive under such extreme conditions. To gain 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: some insight, a team of Australian and New Zealander scientists 26 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: took a hard look at micro filled dirt samples from 27 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: two ice free sites in eastern Antarctica. Both areas are 28 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: deserts where no plants can grow. The McMurdo Dry Valleys 29 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: region has even been compared to the surface of Mars. 30 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: The place has received no rainfall in almost two million years, 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: its humidity levels are staggeringly low, and ice, snow, and 32 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: liquid water are all practically non existent there. On December six, 33 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: the team published their findings in the journal Nature. They 34 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: reported seeing DNA traces from twenty three microbial organism inside 35 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: those soil samples. By reconstructing the microbes genomes, the scientists 36 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: learned that many of these life forms had genes that 37 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: made them exceptionally good at processing carbon, monoxide and hydrogen. 38 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 1: The researchers theorized that the organisms are able to meet 39 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: their energy requirements by pulling both of these gases, along 40 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: with carbon dioxide, straight out of the atmosphere. In other words, 41 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: because of Antarctica's shortage of sunlight and suitable water, as 42 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,679 Speaker 1: well as nutrient poor soil, these microbes could be surviving 43 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: off of air alone. Should this be true, planets and 44 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: moons that were once written off as completely uninhabitable might 45 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: be able to sustain life after all. Maybe alien organisms 46 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: don't need drinking water or abundant sunlight on their home worlds. Instead, 47 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: it could be that the only thing they require is 48 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: the right combination of atmospheric gases. But the study scientists 49 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: say more research is needed to see if this phenomenon 50 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: exists in other parts of the world as well as 51 00:02:52,919 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: outside of it. Today's episode but written by Mark Fancini 52 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,399 Speaker 1: and produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more 53 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: on this and lots of other expectation breaking topics, visit 54 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of 55 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio or more podcasts. My heart Radio visit the 56 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 57 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.