Scientific discovery that changes our notions of life here and elsewhere
We usually don't cover a lot of science on this site. Not that it isn't important; it's just that we are a current events/political site and science stories rarely rise to the level needed to make it on the page.
This story is different.
Scientists have been finding microscopic life miles below the surface for decades. But what they never expected to find - and indeed, previous theory argued against - was the idea that there would be complex life forms at that depth below the surface. Surely multi-celled creatures would need sunlight or some other kind of catalyst to survive.
For the first time, scientists have found complex, multi-celled creatures living a mile and more below the planet's surface, raising new possibilities about the spread of life on Earth and potential subsurface life on other planets and moons.
Nicknamed "worms from hell," the nematodes, or roundworms, were found in several gold mines in South Africa, where researchers have also made breakthrough discoveries about deep subterranean single-cell life.
The two lead researchers, Gaetan Borgonie of the University of Ghent in Belgium and Tullis Onstott of Princeton University, said the discovery of creatures so far below ground, with nervous, digestive and reproductive systems, was akin to finding "Moby Dick in Lake Ontario."
"This is telling us something brand new," said Onstott, whose pioneering work in South Africa over the past decade has revolutionized the understanding of microbial life known generally as extremophiles, which live in places long believed to be uninhabitable.
"For a relatively complex creature like a nematode to penetrate that deep is simply remarkable," he said.
The scientific process rarely leads to such gigantic leaps in knowledge. The profound possibilities to be found off the earth's surface are just as important. We are finding some worlds like Mars was, at one time in its history, perfectly capable of supporting surface life. Now that it is a dead planet - at least on the surface - might it be possible that complex life forms made their way underground and thrive to this day?
This discovery proves that such a scenario is more than a possibility.
Ad Free / Commenting Login
FOLLOW US ON
Recent Articles
- That Strange, Persistent, Cheering at a CEO's Murder is Proof We Are Now an Idiocracy
- North Korea is China's Proxy
- Scientific Societies Err on 'Climate Change'
- A 2025 Year of Jubilee Could End Slavery in America
- The Laken Riley Act Must Become Law
- Depopulation: A Space Odyssey
- Trump’s Incredibly High Stakes
- It’s Not Too Late to Boot Biden
- The Sinking of the USS Agility
- Culture and the Perils of Ideology
Blog Posts
- Why was John Lennon’s atheist anthem ‘Imagine’ sung at Jimmy Carter’s funeral — at the late president’s request?
- Disappointment from the Supreme Court
- Scenes from a funeral
- Americans, be careful for whom you vote; your lives may depend on it
- Fani Willis and the high cost of transparency theater
- More abortion means killing parental rights
- Socialism update: No lights in Cuba, no water in L.A.
- Let's update world maps to reflect American greatness
- Four years of Biden proves too close a shave
- Gavin Newsom actually does something right for once
- The reality of Stand Your Ground
- Can California's fires change woke to MAGA?
- A few suggestions for California Republicans
- Maybe California politicians should listen to Trump instead of seeking to Trump-proof the state
- As Los Angeles burns