Scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets and satellites, like Titan, Enceladus, where conditions are very unusual and harsh for her. But even on Earth there are places where nothing seems to be supposed to live, but it does.
There are extremely inhospitable places on our planet. One of the most dangerous places of this kind is the Danakil Basin in Ethiopia, an arid desert with volcanoes and acid lakes, where in theory nothing can survive.
A group of researchers have been studying the Danakil Basin since 2013, hoping to understand how life can adapt to such harsh external conditions. But first they had to find her, which they were very unsure of.
And as a result, they found the DNA of an extremophile bacterium in a poisonous lake of acid, in a lake where the pH level is zero, that is, nothing more acidic on Earth can be found. And this is really a new record.
The discovery is good news for scientists hoping to find life on other planets. Life is tough, and conditions at Danakil are worse than even on Mars or Europa. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before we find life there as well.
Nikolay Kudryavtsev