Connect with us

Published

5 months ago

on

A landmark global study, published in Science Advances, has revealed the extraordinary diversity of microbial life thriving deep below Earth’s surface. Conducted by a team led by Emil Ruff, Associate Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), the research provides new insights into life forms inhabiting depths up to 491 metres below the seafloor and as far as 4,375 metres underground. According to the study, these subsurface ecosystems rival the biodiversity found on the Earth’s surface, with implications for fields such as bioprospecting, cellular adaptation in low-energy environments, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

Microbial Diversity in the Depths

The study highlights the ability of microbes in the Archaea domain to thrive in these extreme conditions, with some subsurface environments exhibiting biodiversity comparable to tropical forests or coral reefs. Speaking to publications, Ruff explained that contrary to assumptions about energy limitations at great depths, certain subsurface habitats surpass surface ecosystems in diversity.

Marine and Terrestrial Microbiomes Compared

Ruff’s team conducted one of the first comparisons of microbial diversity between marine and terrestrial realms, revealing stark differences in composition despite similar diversity levels. According to Ruff, these findings suggest that selective pressures unique to land and sea create distinct microbial communities, incapable of thriving in the opposing realm.

Life at a Slowed Pace

Reports indicate that an estimated 50-80 percent of Earth’s microbial cells exist in the subsurface, often in conditions where energy availability is minimal. Some cells divide as infrequently as once every 1,000 years, providing valuable insights into survival in low-energy environments. Ruff noted that understanding these adaptations could inform future studies on cellular efficiency and aging.
Implications for Extraterrestrial Research
The study also draws parallels between Earth’s subsurface ecosystems and the potential for life on Mars. Ruff suggested that rocky ecosystems beneath Mars’ surface may resemble those on Earth, offering a model for exploring past or surviving Martian life.

Uniform Methodology Enhances Data Comparisons

The study succeeded by employing consistent DNA sequencing protocols across over 1,000 samples from 50 ecosystems. Co-first author Isabella Hrabe de Angelis from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry contributed significant bioinformatics expertise to the research. Ruff attributed the study’s success to this uniform approach, which enabled unprecedented cross-environment comparisons.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Science

Webb Telescope Uncovers Hidden Active Galactic Nuclei

Published

1 day ago

on

May 31, 2025

By

Webb Telescope Uncovers Hidden Active Galactic Nuclei

An obscured population of huge and massive black holes has been revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope. This discovery could bridge the gap between quasars and the Little Red Dots. These are active galactic nuclei galaxies (AGNs), overlapped or blurred by active blackholes, occupied by dust. Their bright nature makes them detectable in spite of the dust surrounding them. However, during December 2022, astronomers found a new type of AGN that they called Little Red Dots, because they appear as tiny, fat red spots.

Connection of AGN with Quasars is Still a Mystery

For more than a decade, the study has been led by Dale Kocevski, an astronomer at Colby College. Their team includes scientists like Jorryt Matthee, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Science and Technology, who contributed to the understanding of little dots and their connection with quasars. Their connection is still a mystery that prompts them to find the objects with properties in between.

The Old Universe Abundantly Occupied by Hidden Quasars

In a new study Yoshiki Matsuoka, associate professor at the Research Center for Space, told Live Science, the scientists are surprised to find that the not-so-clear quasars had occupied a large portion of the early universe. Out of 13 galaxies, 9 were found to have clear signs of active supermassive blackholes in connection with the heavy dust that hides them.

Findings Can Give Insights into the Study of Universe Evolution

Jorryt Matthee, the head of the old research, said that although there are abundant new objects found in the universe, the gap between the two known populations found by JWST is too high, and thus, there is a possibility that these belong to that missing population lying in between the known ones, providing fresh insights into how these giants formed and evolved in the early universe. The findings were reported on May 7, 2025, in the preprint database arXiv.

Future Study Scopes to Unveil the Nature of LRD

The team is planning to observe 30 more objects from the sample of the Subaru Telescope. This can reveal that the behaviour of the hidden quasars aligns with Little Red Dots. Furthermore, the gases that surround them can reveal the mysterious nature of LRD.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Kedarnath Yatra Helicopter Booking Online Scam: Uttarakhand Police STF Reportedly Cracks Down on Cybercriminals

Continue Reading

Science

SpaceX Starship Flight 9 Reuses Booster, Gathers Key Data Despite Loss

Published

1 day ago

on

May 31, 2025

By

SpaceX Starship Flight 9 Reuses Booster, Gathers Key Data Despite Loss

SpaceX launched its ninth Starship test flight on May 27 that featured the first-ever significant reuse of Starship hardware. As planned on Flight 9, Starship’s two stages separated successfully, and the upper stage even reached space. However, both were ultimately lost before completing their objectives. Despite these setbacks, the mission yielded valuable data which inspires SpaceX’s iterative approach to innovation as it aims to create a fully reusable launch system for space missions. This test flight exhibited successful reuse of a Super Heavy booster and aimed to demonstrate improved hardware performance.

Previous test flights

According to official site of SpaceX, Starship’s two stages are one giant booster called Super Heavy and a 171-foot-tall (52 meters) upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply “Ship.” Both are powered by SpaceX’s new Raptor engine — 33 of them for Super Heavy and six for Ship.

On Flight 7 and Flight 8 the Super Heavy performed flawlessly, acing its engine burn and then returning to Starbase for a catch by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. But Ship had problems: It exploded less than 10 minutes after launch on both missions, raining debris down on the Turks and Caicos Islands and The Bahamas, respectively.

Advancements in flight 9

In flight 9, SpaceX reused a Super Heavy booster for the first time, swapping out just four of its 33 Raptor engines after its initial flight in January. The booster also conducted a new atmospheric entry experiment, entering at a higher angle to collect data on aerodynamic control. Meanwhile, Ship (the upper stage) was tasked with deploying eight dummy Starlink satellites.

Despite the promising advances, Flight 9 encountered several failures. Super Heavy broke apart roughly six minutes after launch during its return burn, and Ship lost control due to a fuel tank leak. The upper stage began tumbling, which prevented a planned in-space engine relight and led to a destructive reentry over the Indian Ocean. Still, SpaceX gained critical data, particularly on tile performance and active cooling systems.

Continue Reading

Science

7,100-Year-Old Skeleton Reveals Unknown Human Lineage in China

Published

1 day ago

on

May 31, 2025

By

7,100-Year-Old Skeleton Reveals Unknown Human Lineage in China

A new study on a 7,100-year-old skeleton from China has revealed a “ghost” lineage that only existed in theories until now. Skeleton of the early Neolithic woman, known as Xingyi_EN, unearthed at the Xingyi archaeological site in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Her DNA links her to a deeply divergent human population that may have contributed to the ancestry of modern Tibetans. This study also reveals a distinct Central Yunnan ancestry connected to early Austroasiatic-speaking groups. This discovery makes Yunnan as a key region to understand the ancient genetic history of East and Southeast Asia. The detailed analysis of 127 human genomes from southwestern China is published in a study in the journal Science.

According to the study, radiocarbon dating indicates Xingyi_EN lived around 7,100 years ago and isotope analysis suggests she lived as a hunter-gatherer. Genetic sequencing revealed her ancestry from a deeply diverged human lineage—now named the Basal Asian Xingyi lineage. This lineage diverged from other modern human groups over 40,000 years ago and remained isolated for thousands of years without mixing with other populations.

This “ghost” lineage does not match DNA from Neanderthals or Denisovans but appears to have later contributed to the ancestry of some modern Tibetans. Xingyi_EN represents the first physical evidence of this previously unknown population.

Yunnan’s significance as a reservoir of deep human diversity

Most of the skeletons that the researchers sampled were dated between 1,400 and 7,150 years ago and came from Yunnan province, which today has the highest ethnic and linguistic diversity in all of China.

“Ancient humans that lived in this region may be key to addressing several remaining questions on the prehistoric populations of East and Southeast Asia,” the researchers wrote in the study. Those unanswered questions include the origins of people who live on the Tibetan Plateau, as previous studies have shown that Tibetans have northern East Asian ancestry.

Continue Reading

Trending