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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"High Life"
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(90 seconds)
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LIFE WILL FIND A WAY... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. IF YOU WERE TO DESIGN A WORLD SO EXTREME THAT LIFE WOULDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE, YOU'D PROBABLY GO WITH SOMETHING LIKE THE SURFACE OF MARS--OR, THE RIM OF THE 19,850-FOOT-HIGH SOCOMPA VOLCANO, ON THE BORDER OF ARGENTINA AND CHILE, IN THE ATACAMA DESERT. WITH ITS THIN ATMOSPHERE, INTENSE U-V RADIATION, AND HARSH CLIMATE, IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE IDEAL PLACE TO TAKE UP RESIDENCE. RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER HAVE BEEN ANALYZING SOIL SAMPLES TAKEN AROUND VOLCANIC VENTS NEAR THE SUMMIT, AND HAVE FOUND NEW MICROBIAL LIFE-FORMS--AT LEAST, NEW TO US. SOMEHOW, THESE LITTLE GUYS HAVE FOUND A WAY TO LIVE, GROW, AND PROSPER--AGAINST THE ODDS--IN THE HIGHEST-KNOWN ECOSYSTEM ON THE PLANET. THE SCIENTISTS SAY THAT VOLCANIC GASES--METHANE, WATER, AND CARBON DIOXIDE--FROM DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH ARE MIXING WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF SUNLIGHT, TO FUEL THE MICROBES IN THIS SKY-HIGH LANDSCAPE. AND, THE MICROBES AREN'T ALONE: THE TEAM ALSO FOUND A NEW VARIETY OF MICROSCOPIC MITE--LIVING AT AN ALTITUDE WHERE NO MITE HAS EVER GONE BEFORE. RESEARCH IN SUCH EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS--AND FINDING UNKNOWN LIFE-FORMS THERE--COULD LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF NEW ANTIBIOTICS OR OTHER BENEFICIAL PRODUCTS. THESE ARE SOME PRETTY-TOUGH LITTLE MICROBES--LIVING THE HIGH LIFE. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
