Tiny Extremophiles Living in Rocks!
In freezing cold sand, a burning hot mine, or even inside solid rock – these extremophiles live anywhere that you wouldn't want to live. What are they? How can ...
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In some of the harshest environments on Earth, it seems like some form of life finds a way to get by. Even inside solid rock. All kinds of tiny organisms, like bacteria, algae, fungi, or archaea, actually live in between the grains of rocks and minerals. We call them endoliths, from the Greek words meaning “inside” and “rock.” Endoliths could survive in friendlier environments, but everything else vying for space and resources would probably win. So, they’re considered extremophiles – organisms that can live where nobody else can, and thrive when things get tough. One place where endoliths rule is in the cold desert of Antarctica: Temperatures can plummet to negative 60 degrees Celsius, winds can blow over 200 kilometers per hour, and the air is super dry. For scientis...
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In some of the harshest environments on Earth, it seems like some form of life finds a way to get by. Even inside solid rock. All kinds of tiny organisms, like bacteria, algae, fungi, or archaea, actually live in between the grains of rocks and minerals. We call them endoliths, from the Greek words meaning “inside” and “rock.” Endoliths could survive in friendlier environments, but everything else vying for space and resources would probably win. So, they’re considered extremophiles – organisms that can live where nobody else can, and thrive when things get tough. One place where endoliths rule is in the cold desert of Antarctica: Temperatures can plummet to negative 60 degrees Celsius, winds can blow over 200 kilometers per hour, and the air is super dry. For scientis...
