Biologists find weird cave life that may be 50,000 years old
Susan Montoya Bryan / AP
In this July 3, 2008, file photo, New Mexico Tech professor Penny Boston crawls through the Mud Turtle Passage on the way to the Snowy River formation during an expedition in Fort Stanton Cave, N.M. Boston, who discovered extreme life in New Mexico caves in 2008, presented new findings on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, of microbes trapped in crystals in Mexico that could be 50,000 years old.
Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 | 2:41 p.m.
BOSTON — Scientists examining caves in Mexico have found life trapped in crystals that could be 50,000 years old.
Penelope Boston, head of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, on Friday announced the findings of bizarre and ancient microbes in caves in Nica, Mexico. Her team revived the dormant microbes and plans another genetic analysis of the find.
Boston says the creatures are like time machines and "super life."
If confirmed, the discovery is yet another example of how microbes can survive in extremely harsh conditions on Earth.
The Mexican cave system where the microbes were found is so beautiful yet hot that it got dueling nicknames of Fairyland and Hell.