THE arid heart of the Atacama desert in Chile is the only completely lifeless place on Earth – at least it was until the discovery of a new form of microbe living there. It survives in a unique way, using moisture sucked from the air by salty rocks.
All other desert life we know of requires at least occasional rain or fog to supply water, but this region of the Atacama has neither. It is the driest part of the driest desert on Earth, and its almost total lack of water seemed to be an insuperable barrier to life.
However, Jacek…
