Is there anywhere on Earth where there is no life?
Life is incredibly resilient, and simple organisms have been found everywhere from Antarctica to the bottom of mines; even the so-called Dead Sea supports ‘salt-loving’ haloarchaea microorganisms. There is one part of the world where nothing thrives, however: the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Could Earth organisms survive on Mars?
Some microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface of Mars, finds a new study by NASA and German Aerospace Center scientists. “Some microbes, in particular spores from the black mold fungus, were able to survive the trip, even when exposed to very high UV radiation.”
Could an organism live in space?
Tardigrades are the first known animal to survive after exposure to outer space. For 10 days, groups of tardigrades, some of them previously dehydrated, some of them not, were exposed to the hard vacuum of outer space, or vacuum and solar UV radiation.
Which planet can living things survive?
Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.
How many people live in deserts on Earth?
Some deserts are among the planet’s last remaining areas of total wilderness. Yet more than one billion people, one-sixth of the Earth’s population, actually live in desert regions. What is a desert? Deserts cover more than one-fifth of the Earth’s land area, and they are found on every continent.
How are plants able to survive in the desert?
In deserts where water isn’t readily available, plants use the CAM photosynthesis method to reduce their water loss by only opening their pores during the night. They store the CO 2 they have collected until the next day and then use the sun’s energy to complete the remaining steps of photosynthesis.
How are animals adapted to live in the desert?
For example, cacti have enlarged stems to store water, as well as spines to protect these water reserves from thirsty animals. Animals such as the black-tailed jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus) are also adapted to life in the desert: Their extra-long ears help to transfer out excess heat from their body into the air.
Where are deserts most likely to be found?
By definition, a desert is any area of land that receives less rain than it is loses through evaporation and transpiration. Because more sun leads to more evaporation and transpiration, deserts are mostly found in hot, tropical areas but they also in colder regions from sub-tropical ll the way to the polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic.