Alien life shock: Ancient Earth organism fed space rock ‘starts dancing’ – Express.co.uk

Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. ALIEN life may be far more likely to exist after research reveals extremophiles thrive on extraterrestrial meteorite material.PUBLISHED: 08:57, Sat, Dec 7, 2019 | UPDATED: 10:01, Sat, Dec 7, 2019 Scientists have discovered a single-celled organism, a descendant of some of the earliest life on Earth, can colonise a meteorite. The landmark experiment is anticipated to offer a way of looking for the signatures of past alien life on other worlds.Dr Tetyana Milojevic, of the University of Vienna and first author of the study, said: “This process was very enigmatic and exciting, how the chemical energy of a stone fragment can be transformed into the biochemical energy of a living entity. This process was very enigmatic and exciting, how the chemical energy of a stone fragment can be transformed into the biochemical energy of a living entityDr Tetyana Milojevic“To find an answer to understand this process, I think it’s a great moment.”The extreme species Metallosphaera sedula can add thriving on a meteorite to its list of unusual accomplishments.First isolated from a volcanic field in Italy in 1989, the microbe is considered an extremophile because it prefers to live in conditions totally uninhabitable to all other organisms.READ MORE: NASA astronaut captures stunning ‘spider web’ London pictureAlien life news: A descendant of some of the earliest life on Earth can colonise a meteorite (Image: University of Vienna)Alien life news: Metallosphaera sedula can thrive on a meteorite (Image: Getty)Such organisms are helpful for probing the early history of Earth, with its harsh and inhospitable environments, as well as the possibilities for life in the universe.When Dr Milojevic decided to grow M. sedula on a meteorite, she wanted to see how the species would react.And she was shocked to discover the microorganisms thrived on the meteorite, growing and synthesising nutrients on the space rock.She added: “We found that the reaction is quite happy.DON’T MISSTESS satellite presents stunning new southern sky mosaic [VIDEO]Life discovered deep underground points to ‘subterranean Galapagos’ [INTERVIEW]Shadow land: ‘Alien life can exist in 2D universe’ [INTERVIEW]“Our students in the lab also immediately noticed the cells are very vivid, they’re dancing on the space rock.”Being able to measure these chemical fingerprints after an organism has died could be useful tool in the search for alien life, Dr Milojevic added.However, she said there remains a “huge gap” between identifying these fingerprints and tying them to individual species.Alien life news: The microorganisms thrived on the meteorite (Image: Getty)Alien life news: The organisms also have potential in biomining (Image: Express) The next step of the study will have to investigate how long these fingerprints last, especially under the conditions of outer space.Dr Milojevic said the organisms also have potential in biomining, or extracting minerals from space rocks.She said: “We should try to understand where we are coming from and where we are going to, and archaea might be very useful in this way.”