REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Bacteria growth amid the extreme conditions in northern Argentina’s Lake Diamante bodes well for the possibility of life on Mars, according to a new report.
In spite of a lack of oxygen, an altitude of 15,400 feet above sea level, a high atmospheric level of alkaline, arsenic and salt, so-called “super bacteria” are alive and kicking in the Laguna del Diamante, or Lake Diamante, in Argentina’s Mendoza province.
If those conditions sound familiar, dear NewsFeed reader, then you are well-traveled. And we aren’t talking Internet traffic here, for such an environment resembles the planet Mars, among other outer space locales.
“What we have here is a series of extreme conditions all in one place. And this is what makes this place unique in the world,” said Maroa Eugenia Farias, a microbiologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, in an interview with the Reuters News Agency.
With little oxygen, the bacteria also must mutate on a regular basis to endure the harsh ultra-violet radiation at that altitude, which could make the life forms valuable case studies for pharmaceutical products, including sunscreens. (Via Reuters)