LIQUID asphalt is not a likely home, but hardy microbes have been found thriving in a natural lake made of the stuff. The discovery hints that alien life could exist in similar places.
Microbes are known to exist in tar pits, but it was not known if natural asphalt pools, with their more toxic composition, could harbour life.
in Pullman and his team analysed samples from 鈥� one of the planet鈥檚 three known natural asphalt lakes 鈥� where hydrocarbons seep up from an oil deposit below. They identified a range of fungi, bacteria and archaea. 鈥淲e found a thriving ecosystem,鈥� says Schulze-Makuch ().
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The organisms may feed on the asphalt, but Schulze-Makuch was surprised that they can survive with little water. It鈥檚 鈥渞ight at the margin鈥� of where life is possible, he says.
Saturn鈥檚 moon Titan has similar lakes of hydrocarbons, albeit in a much colder environment. 鈥淭his is a good reminder that we have to keep an open mind about where life might be found in the universe,鈥� says of NASA鈥檚 Cassini mission.
