Scientists sterilized soil. It kept breathing for six years.
Boing Boing • • science
Key Points:
- A French laboratory sterilized soil using gamma radiation, sealed it in jars, and observed it consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide for six years despite having no living cells inside.
- Researchers suggest this indicates metabolic activity without life, possibly reflecting ancient chemical processes like the Krebs cycle operating in dead soil.
- Experts note this phenomenon demonstrates how biomolecules behave independently and supports the idea that such chemical reactions predate cellular life on Earth.
- The study offers insight into the survival of pre-life biochemical processes occurring naturally within geological materials beneath our feet.