The secret to life on distant planets could lie beneath the ocean floor, according to staggering research. A rich tapestry of microbes uncovered from rocks hundreds of feet down among the ocean crust proved an illuminating discovery for authors of a study first published in 2020. The single-cell organisms that live off methane in the South Pacific were far more plentiful in number than expected after being uncovered during an expedition in 2010. It came when the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) collected samples from 400 feet below the ocean crust. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The sheer number of microbes they found in the rock samples surprised them, with the rocks containing an enormous 10 billion bacterial cells – a huge increase compared to normal levels on the seafloor, which normally only measure around 100 bacterial cells per cubic centimeter. "I thought it was a dream, seeing such rich microbial life in rocks," Yohey Suzuki from the University of Tokyo said. The signs are certainly encouraging when it comes to searching for life on Mars and other planets in the solar system, especially as the findings of the study suggested that the microbes were there organically and not influenced by underwater volcanoes. "Minerals are like a fingerprint for what conditions were present when the clay formed. Neutral to slightly alkaline levels, low temperature, moderate salinity, iron-rich environment, basalt rock—all of these conditions are shared between the deep ocean and the surface of Mars," Suzuki said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

'Jumanji: Wild Adventures' is "four times bigger" than its predecessor.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 19, 2023--

Players can now unlock the FR Avancer Assault Rifle in Warzone Season 5 for free by reaching Sector E8 of the Battle Pass.

Suspected Chinese hackers allegedly breached the US Navy as part of a broader campaign that cybersecurity experts believe

Five TikTok creators have filed a lawsuit to overturn a planned ban on the video sharing app in Montana

For two companies struggling to stem losses and sort out operational issues, Aston Martin Lagonda Holdings Plc and

A major leak has seemingly revealed Microsoft’s plans for the future of the Xbox. The company is planning a new version of the Xbox Series X that will be shaped like a cylinder and not include a console, according to internal documents. Codenamed “Brooklyn”, the new console will have the power of the more expensive Xbox, with more storage but without the option to use discs. But that will then be followed by an entirely new kind of console, planned for 2028. That aims to create a “hybrid” experience by streaming games online but combining them with local hardware, to get the best of both. That is according to new documents that were published as part of the legal hearings between the US Federal Trade Commission and Xbox, which were first reported by The Verge. The documents appear to have been uploaded accidentally, and have since been pulled down. There is no guarantee that either of the consoles will actually arrive, and the documents appear to show the internal planning of the hardware. But the new “Brooklin” version of the Xbox Series X appears close to completion, with an estimated 2024 release date. It will also come with a new controller, nicknamed Sebile and planned for later this year. It will include new features such as an accelerometer so that the console can wake up just by being picked up, and a white and black mixed colour scheme, but otherwise keeps the same design as the existing controller. The “next generation” console appears to be more speculative, and comes from a 2022 pitch ahead of a possible 2028 release date. It says that the company is aiming for its cloud gaming platform and physical consoles to achieve “full convergence” through games that would be described as “cloud hybrid”. “Our vision: develop a next generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences,” the documents read. It suggests for instance that players could buy a small puck that would plug into their television and include some of the processors and other hardware required to play games. But much of the game itself would stream over the internet. The hardware design would begin next year, ahead of kits arriving with developers in 2027, and then the console itself arriving a year later. The first games would start being developed for the hybrid platform from next year, the documents suggest. But it also notes that a range of things are yet to be decided. The company needs to build a “thin” operating system that could play the local parts of the games, for instance. The documents mention “hybrid Windows”, suggesting that similar technology could come to the desktop. Read More Apple explains how the iPhone turned into a camera like none before it BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation as YouTube demonetises content Google announces huge breakthrough step in finding genes that cause disease

Epic Games teased the return of the Fortnite Chapter 1 Season 5 map, brining Tilted Towers, Greasy Grove, Pleasant Park, and more back to Fortnite in 2023.

The risk to the electric-vehicle maker is that strikes spread to Germany, where it has a large factory.

The Gulf of Mexico has been a hub for US oil production for decades. A government auction Tuesday

Textbooks in Saudi Arabia have been changing. For years, researchers have been observing a gradual moderation on subjects ranging from gender roles to the promotion of peace and tolerance.