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Article: Living free of photosynthesis.(bacteria that are completely independent of photosynthesis and could live on Mars discovered in Columbia River's basalt aquifers)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- October 21, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Microorganisms that could survive on Mars live in the Columbia River's basalt aquifers near Richland, Wash., researchers assert.
For the first time, scientists have found a community of bacteria that requires only carbon dioxide, basalt, and water--substances that lie below the surface of the Red Planet, Todd O. Stevens and James P. McKinley of Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland report in the Oct. 20 Science. None of the bacteria relies directly or indirectly on photosynthesis.
"We think these ecosystems in the basalt aquifer are actually the first ones [ever found] that are completely independent [of] photosynthesis," says Stevens. Although some ...