If anything, this is just piles on hope (for me) that we'll eventually discover life on other planets that live in conditions we originally expect to be much too harsh to support life.
It seems our definition of life, or the conditions required for if to exist, are constantly challenged. From thermal tubes to 850 km from sun light, complex life forms exists in some harsh places. I'm willing to bet that we haven't even scratched the surface of the insane conditions under which life outside our understanding is able to survive and thrive.
Well if they weren't blind they definitely are now with that probe shining bright lights in their eyes. Assuming they were adapted for really low levels of light, they might just be vestigial.
It might, but keep in mind the history of the planet. Those fish more likely came from a species that already existed in warmer waters. Over the course of time they slowly drifted in and adapted. Then they could be shut off from the outside world and still thrive due to their earlier adaption.
I wonder what the ethical implications would be if we found out for certain that Europa was a barren world with a salty ocean under the ice, and then dumped a few tons of marine life into it.
Nice to see Montana State University showing up in this story. Go Bobcats!
The Solar Physics group has had some great work published in the past, but having the Priscu[1] group getting results like this is also amazing. Kind of funny, that they're in the College of Agriculture and working in Antarctica.
It seems our definition of life, or the conditions required for if to exist, are constantly challenged. From thermal tubes to 850 km from sun light, complex life forms exists in some harsh places. I'm willing to bet that we haven't even scratched the surface of the insane conditions under which life outside our understanding is able to survive and thrive.