Scientists Say Organisms Trapped in This Ancient Rock May Still Be Alive

Scientists in West Virginia may have found a life form that is more than 800 million years old.

The Browne Formation, an 830 million-year-old rock found in the Australian desert, may still be alive, according to a new paper published in the journal Geology.

The Browne Formation includes halite salt crystals, and the WVU researchers found organic liquids and solids using non-invasive optical techniques. They found single-celled organisms known as prokaryotes, which have been discovered in the past to survive hundreds of millions of years when trapped inside salt crystals.

Bacterial Madness

The Browne prokaryotes, if found to be alive, could have huge implications for the search for life on Mars.

The Browne Formation prokaryotes would be the first still-living organisms found within a hundreds of millions of years old halite crystal.

It will be a huge deal if we discover that the organisms trapped in that ancient crystal are still alive.

There are 830-million-year-old microorganisms in primary fluid.

Europe just launched brainless blobs of mold to space.