A bug found feeding off radioactive uranium has opened the
possibility to scientists that alien life could survive on a diet of
cosmic rays and not require light, oxygen and carbon - believed to be
the building blocks of life here on Earth.
The bacterium Desulforudis
audaxviator was found 2.8km beneath a gold mine in South Africa,
completely deprived of all things required for photosynthesis. The
discovery is leading scientists to rethink their theories on what is
required to create life, according to a study published by the
Royal Society.
"It really grabbed my attention because it's completely powered by radioactive substances," publisher of the findings Dimitra Atri told
Science Alert.
"Who's to say life on other worlds doesn't do the same thing?", Atri adds.
Desulforudis
audaxviator survives off sulfur and water molecules in it’s surrounding
rock which are broken up by the radiation. The study theorized that
instead of feeding off radioactive materials beneath the planet,
microbes could instead be supplied by galactic cosmic rays that are
spewed by supernovas.
If
the bacterium can survive from radioactive byproducts found in the
depths of a mine, alien life may be able to feed on cosmic radiation,
making parts of the universe previously believed to be uninhabitable a
potential cauldron of life.
The study found that underground life
on the moon could theoretically survive on the cosmic rays they are
exposed too, if water and a heat source were available. Atri next plans
to study how cosmic radiation levels similar to those found on Mars
would affect Desulforudis audaxviator.
However, NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay dismissed the theory telling
Popular Science"The
energy itself is so small, and because of the high radiation, the
organism would have to spend a lot of energy repairing damage from
radiation. It uses a lot of its energy in this process".
