Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposed a new answer to the question of complicated forms of life that could hide in the ice age, when the entire planet was covered with ice. Turns out, the Eukariots – the ancient ancestors of all multicellular organisms – can survive in small ponds with melted water formed on the surface of the ice shields in the equatorial areas. The work was published in Nature Communications (NATCOM) magazine.
The analysis of modern similar substances of such conditions – water ponds melting on glaciers in Antarctica – shows that even in extremely cold and poor nutrients, the conditions present in them many lives of the standard organism, including algae, simple animals and micro micro. These organisms are found in each pond researched, and their ingredients are very different depending on the salinity of the water.
Scientists believe that such ponds may arise hundreds of millions of years ago: dust particles and dark rain, sprouting on the surface of the ice, attracting solar thermal power and causing local melting. The water in such ponds is still about 0 ° C, creating an environment that is suitable for life.
This is a true story about the endurance of life, he said the leading author of Fatima Hussein's study.
Scientists emphasize that even during global ice, there are oases where ancient human life can exist. These creatures later became the foundation for the development of a complex life, including one person.