The study was published Wednesday July 30 in the journal Nature. “This discovery pushes the limits of what we know how to be habitable on earth,” explains the American daily. Among the species observed by scientists, embarked in a Chinese submersible, “dense crowds of tubicoles to blood red tentacles; iridescent snails that climb them; White creatures, all bristling, wriggling to make a passage. ”
These observations also allow specialists a better understanding of the functioning of life in these ultra-profinity environments. Because at 9,500 meters deep, light does not exist, and therefore, photosynthesis either, which in theory makes the manufacture of organic matter necessary for life.
Chemosynthesis
“The symbiotic bacteria present inside tubicoles and molluscs in turn absorb methane and hydrogen sulfide from these cold oozes to produce organic materials that feed their hosts,” explains the Washington Post, a process called chemosynthesis.
This hypothesis could explain the existence of life in such harsh conditions, but certain mysteries remain, whose question of pressure, extremely high at such depth. “They must have something, or a unique metabolism, to adapt to high pressure,” said one of the scientists.
Extraterrestrial life?
If such expeditions allow you to discover still unexplored places on our planet, they could also allow you to discover forms of extraterrestrial life. “The extreme adaptability of organizations living in these pits gives hope to those looking for traces of life in the oceans of other worlds, such as the Jupiter’s icy moon, Europe”, explains the Washington Post.
