Scientists around the globe are striving to find ways to survive on different planets — Mars being the priority. And we all know the amount of success they have had. Finally a breakthrough in this research could be the discovery of a bug found 2 miles deep in a Greenland ice sheet.

Matanuska Glacier Blue Ice

The H. Glaciei bacteria  belongs to the rare ‘ultramicro’ family which have the capability of surviving under extreme conditions. This particular bacteria was sleeping for a period of 120,000 years and was brought back to life by warming the ice samples that contained them.

The process took 11- and-a-months after which the entire formation was clear. They had a filling volume of 0.043 cubic micrometres and consisted of thin rods with up to three long whip-like attachments called flagella.

Since these tiny bacterium can hold themselves together, they provide the exact acumen so life can survive in conditions where the temperature is as low as -56C,  hardly any oxygen, a limited number of nutrients, high pressure and very limited space.

So finally the questions related to survival on different planets could be answered by a bacteria which is 50 times smaller than even an E.Coli.

[via Dailymail] Image courtesy of NickDungeness

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