UNIGE researchers have found that bacteria can survive in the sediments of the Dead Sea at a depth of over 400 metres in spite of extreme conditions. Studying organic matter in sediments helps shed light on the distant past. What was the climate like? What organisms populated the Earth? What conditions did they live in? Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the University of Lyon, France, have examined the sediments in the Dead Sea, where the salinity is without compare, making it one of the most hostile environments on the planet. The geologists drilled a 400-metre hole in the core of the Dead Sea before analysing each layer of sediment and the traces of a strategy that enables bacteria to survive by feeding on the remains of other organisms. This discovery, to be read about in the journal Geology , will further our understanding of how life can develop even in the most severe conditions. It also provides vital research leads for detecting life on other planets. The study of the deep biosphere - microbial presence in sediments - helps us understand the various aspects of the evolution of the Earth and the manifold climatic changes that it has been subjected to.
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