Radiation as a food for bacteria

When we try to imagine how extraterrestrials might look , it is sometimes a good idea to look a little closer and look carefully at some of the earth's organisms. One of the strangest creatures that lives on Earth and actually beneath it is the Desulforudis audaxviator, which lives three kilometers below Earth's surface in complete darkness at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius and in an environment completely devoid of solar light, oxygen or organic compounds.

What is remarkable for her is that she has evolved in a unique way and lives by extracting the energy from the radioactive decay of uranium in the rocks around. Or in other words: the bacterium feeds radiation instead of using sunlight in some form. According to scientists from the Brazilian synchrotron lab, this makes it a very reliable candidate for exploring the possibility of alien life. According to them, this may be especially interesting and useful in exploring the deep oceans of the Jupiter Europe satellite that is covered with ice and is far from the sunshine and warmth of the star of our solar system.

Source: www.sciencealert.com ,https://www.gettyimages.com