Ditemukan, cacing dari neraka 1,3 km di bawah tanah
Seberapa dalam binatang bisa hidup di kedalaman tanah? Ahli biologi Princeton University menemukan cacing jenis baru yang hidup di kedalaman 1,3 kilometer di bawah permukaan tanah yang amat panas.
"Kami menyebutnya sebagai 'Cacing dari Neraka'," ujar salah seorang peneliti biologi Princeton University, Tullis Onstott.
Onstott bersama rekannya menamakan spesies cacing tersebut dari Halicephalobus mephisto, nama dicatut dari iblis Mephistopheles dalam cerita karangan Faust. Cacing tersebut ditemukan di pertambangan emas ultra-dalam Beatrix, Afrika Selatan, yang tembus hingga kedalaman 3 kilometer.
Pada pertambangan yang sama, ilmuwan pernah menemukan organisme sel tunggal di kedalaman 1,6 kilometer. Pada kedalaman ini temperatur tanah amat panas, mencapai 60-110 derajat celcius. Namun, baru kali ini binatang bersel majemuk ditemukan di kedalaman ekstrem.
Untuk mencari cacing neraka ini, Onstott bersama tim mengambil sampel air menggunakan mata bor hingga kedalaman 3,6 kilometer. Mereka juga mengambil sampel tanah dari sekeliling mata bor dan menyaring 40.000 galon air permukaan guna memastikan cacing bukan berasal dari atas tanah.
Beberapa karakteristik Halicephalobus mephisto yang telah diketahui adalah cacing ini bisa berkembang biak secara aseksual. Selain itu, binatang ini diperkirakan telah hidup di sela patahan bebatuan dalam sejak 2.900 tahun lalu. Guna memenuhi kebutuhan nutrisi, cacing ini memakan bakteri yang hidup di sela batuan.
Penelitian Onstott sendiri tak dilakukan dalam waktu singkat. Dibutuhkan penelitian selama 15 tahun hingga organisme ekstrem ini ditemukan. Temuan Onstott diterbitkan dalam jurnal ilmiah "Nature".
Untuk mencari cacing neraka ini, Onstott bersama tim mengambil sampel air menggunakan mata bor hingga kedalaman 3,6 kilometer. Mereka juga mengambil sampel tanah dari sekeliling mata bor dan menyaring 40.000 galon air permukaan guna memastikan cacing bukan berasal dari atas tanah.
Beberapa karakteristik Halicephalobus mephisto yang telah diketahui adalah cacing ini bisa berkembang biak secara aseksual. Selain itu, binatang ini diperkirakan telah hidup di sela patahan bebatuan dalam sejak 2.900 tahun lalu. Guna memenuhi kebutuhan nutrisi, cacing ini memakan bakteri yang hidup di sela batuan.
Penelitian Onstott sendiri tak dilakukan dalam waktu singkat. Dibutuhkan penelitian selama 15 tahun hingga organisme ekstrem ini ditemukan. Temuan Onstott diterbitkan dalam jurnal ilmiah "Nature".
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Found, the worm of hell 1.3 km below the ground
How the animals can live in the depths of the soil? Princeton University biologists discover new species of worms that live at depths of 1.3 kilometers below the ground surface is very hot.
"We call it 'Worms from Hell'," said one biologist at Princeton University, Tullis Onstott.Onstott and colleagues named the species of worm Halicephalobus Mephisto, the name of the demon Mephistopheles dicatut in a story written by Faust. Worms were found in gold mining in the ultra-Beatrix, South Africa, which penetrate to a depth of 3 kilometers.
At the same mining, scientists have discovered a single cell organism at a depth of 1.6 kilometer. At this depth the soil temperature is very hot, reaching 60-110 degrees Celsius. However, this was the first multiple-celled animals found at extreme depths.
To search for worms this hell, Onstott's team took water samples using the drill to a depth of 3.6 kilometer. They also took soil samples from around the drill bit and the filter surface of 40 000 gallons of water to ensure the worm does not come from the ground.
Some characteristics of known Halicephalobus Mephisto is a worm can reproduce asexually. In addition, these animals are thought to have lived in between the rocks in the fault since 2900 years ago. In order to meet the nutritional needs, these worms feed on bacteria that live in between the rocks.
Onstott own research was done in no time. It takes 15 years to study these extreme organisms found. Onstott findings published in the scientific journal "Nature".
How the animals can live in the depths of the soil? Princeton University biologists discover new species of worms that live at depths of 1.3 kilometers below the ground surface is very hot.
"We call it 'Worms from Hell'," said one biologist at Princeton University, Tullis Onstott.Onstott and colleagues named the species of worm Halicephalobus Mephisto, the name of the demon Mephistopheles dicatut in a story written by Faust. Worms were found in gold mining in the ultra-Beatrix, South Africa, which penetrate to a depth of 3 kilometers.
At the same mining, scientists have discovered a single cell organism at a depth of 1.6 kilometer. At this depth the soil temperature is very hot, reaching 60-110 degrees Celsius. However, this was the first multiple-celled animals found at extreme depths.
To search for worms this hell, Onstott's team took water samples using the drill to a depth of 3.6 kilometer. They also took soil samples from around the drill bit and the filter surface of 40 000 gallons of water to ensure the worm does not come from the ground.
Some characteristics of known Halicephalobus Mephisto is a worm can reproduce asexually. In addition, these animals are thought to have lived in between the rocks in the fault since 2900 years ago. In order to meet the nutritional needs, these worms feed on bacteria that live in between the rocks.
Onstott own research was done in no time. It takes 15 years to study these extreme organisms found. Onstott findings published in the scientific journal "Nature".
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