Martian Microbes?

Researchers discover microbes in Oregon thriving in extreme, Mars-like conditions.

Written byJef Akst

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Green olivine crystals on lava rockWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, MILA ZINKOVA

In a lava tube in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, scientists identified a peculiar microbe—growing successfully in near-freezing temperatures with little access to oxygen and no source of organic food. The microbes generate energy by oxidizing iron from olivine, a volcanic mineral found in the surrounding rocks in the lava tube, as well as the rocks on Mars. The discovery, published this week in Astrobiology, could provide hints regarding the type of life one might expect to find on Mars.

“This reaction involving a common mineral from volcanic rocks just hasn’t been documented before,” coauthor Martin Fisk of Oregon State University said in a press release.

In 2006, Fisk found tracks on a meteorite from Mars that could have been caused by the consumption of ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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