Bacteria can survive the harsh and harsh environment of Mars

Bacteria subjected to the same stringent conditions in the space proved surprisingly robust, which gives hope that they could survive in the future. other places in the solar system. [19659003] Advanced technologies leading to astounding discoveries have brought humanity closer to several stages in finding life as it is known in other worlds. In the past month alone, researchers have discovered organic matter on Mars and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

In previous explorations, experts confirmed that Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, was sending plumes of geyser into its atmosphere. The existence of hydrothermal vents similar to that of the Earth where the first microbes appeared.

Now, new research claims that some of Earth's most resistant microbes could survive in the extreme climates of Mars, Enceladus, Europa and other worlds. By submitting bacteria to a different set of chemical cocktails, scientists have discovered that microbes can withstand conditions similar to harsh environments outside the Earth.

The Study

An international team of German, American and American researchers. The UK has chosen to work with a microbe called Planococcus halocryophilus, a bacterium that is usually found in frozen soils in the Arctic region

. The bacteria have also been immersed in perchlorate, a very toxic chemical compound that is found in small amounts in Mars soils.

Jacob Heinz, senior researcher at the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Technical University of Berlin, said he chose compounds to try to mimic the chemical composition of Mars.

Bacteria surviving in extreme conditions

The researchers wanted to know how much perchlorate was needed to kill the bacteria. As they suspected, the bacteria did not survive when exposed to high concentrations of the toxic compound. Even at a lower temperature of -22 degrees Fahrenheit, where bacteria are better known, microbes show only a minimal improvement.

However, Heinz says that it does not exclude life on Mars or elsewhere. Martian soil has less than 1% by weight of perchlorate. Researchers say that bacteria exposed to 10% perchlorate solutions can still survive.

Theresa Fisher of the Earth and Space Exploration School of Arizona State University says the research could demonstrate how bacteria can adapt to their environment. Fisher is studying how microbes can survive on other planets.

"I would be surprised that microbes have not evolved to cope with this toxicity," Fisher explains. "Bacteria, when stressed, respond to shock and make specific proteins that help them adapt, survive and cope with harmful environments."

In the driest areas of the desert Chilean Atacama, for example not only survive in harsh conditions, they thrive in environments with high levels of perchlorate and other toxic compounds.

The salt factor

Another factor that the researchers wanted to test was salt concentrations. Lower temperatures are generally more favorable for microbes. However, the chemical composition of the saline solution also plays a huge role.

Bacteria placed in normal table salt (sodium chloride), for example, perished after two weeks of exposure at room temperature. However, as the temperature dropped to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, almost all the bacteria survived.

Survivability when exposed to magnesium chloride and calcium chloride at varied room temperature, but bacteria exhibit high survival rates at -22 degrees Fahrenheit. 19659003] Researchers also subjected bacteria to freeze-thaw cycles similar to the rapid change in temperatures on Mars. An average day on Martian lands registers around -72 degrees Fahrenheit, with the polar regions descending as low as -193 degrees Fahrenheit.

They found that bacteria in saline solutions were better able to withstand extreme temperature changes. When researchers added 10% table salt to their solutions, death rates dropped from 20% to 7%.

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