Beneath the Surface
Transcript
[ Bell ringing ] We went down there simply hoping to demonstrate that organisms were capable of adapting to the deep subsurface and instead we discover a community utilizing a source of energy that we did not anticipate. We discover a type of community that we did not anticipate. Even the owners and operators of these mines were intrigued by the idea of looking for life in a place where your common sense would tell you absolutely not. It's a wasted effort. It certainly makes us much more optimistic than we ever were before that earthlike life could do quite well in the subsurface of Mars. That organisms on our planet who start out at the surface can get into the subsurface make the necessary evolutionary adjustments and find a way to both hold on and grow and presumably reproduce.
IU Distinguished Professor Menahem Pressler honored by hometown