life is possible on Mars or on a frozen-moon of Jupiter, say scientists. While drilling through ice that fills shallow lakes in Antarctica, they have found colonies of bacteria inside blocks of ice. Scientists say that these bacteria have been living in temperatures that rarely go above 0 C.
This proves that life is a lot more hardy than previously thought to be, according to Brian Lanoli of Oregon State University, usa, author of the report.
Lanoli and his colleague Stephen Giovannoi say that particles are blown onto the ice in the Antarctic summer. They absorb solar heat and slowly sink into the ice. Pockets of water form around them, which shows the presence of bacteria in the region. The researchers believe that the bacteria are frozen more than half the year and are active only when the Sun shines, drawing nutrition through photosynthesis.
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