LIFE can survive burial in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica—the most
hostile environment on Earth. The Valleys are extremely dry and cold, with an
average temperature of –30 to –35 °C, but what little water
there is stays liquid due to its high salinity.
An international team of researchers found healthy colonies of fungi in soil
samples taken from between 3 and 8 centimetres below the surface. The hardy
species they found were Beauveria bassiana, which usually feeds on
insects, and the common soil fungus Penicillium. How they got to the
remote spot is a mystery, but they could…
