User:Robertinventor/Simple animals could live in Martian brines - Extended Interview with planetary scientist Vlada Stamenković: Difference between revisions

ReproductionResearchers can't study the reproduction of such slowly growing cells can't be studied using cell counts. ButPerhaps it is possible at lower temperatures, but the usual limit cited is -20&nbsp;°C<!-- see discussion in A new analysis of Mars "Special Regions" -->. That's well above the lowest Martian temperatures studied in the paper which go down toof -133&nbsp;°C.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch, hoever, has proposed that Martian life might evolve an exotic metabolism with the perchlorates of Mars taking the place of the salts inside the cells of Earth life. This would have advantages on Mars, with the brines inside their own cells acting as an anti-freeze to protect them against extreme cold. Also with theirThese salts beingare soalso very hygroscopic, theywhich maymight help themlife of this sort (if it exists) to scavenge water from the atmosphere and their surroundings.

When microbes that are able to live atin extremely cold conditions are cooled down, the interior doesn't freeze but changes to a glassy state (Intracellular vitrification). So the microbes would be able to be cooled down this far without being damaged.

It would then depend on whether the cells can keep their intercellular fluids liquid as they cool down. If they can, this will keep the viscosity low, and permit vigorous metabolic processes to continue. If their interior changes to a glassy state then some metabolic processes do still continue but only very slowly in these vitrified cells.