Research done on rocks in a chain of islands off the west coast of Scotland could prove that potential life on Mars has a very strange way of thriving, The Independent reports. The islands of Barra and Uist in the Outer Hebrides undergo earthquakes similar to "Marsquakes" on the red planet, and create hydrogen in the Earth's crust. If such earthquakes are producing hydrogen on Earth, there is reason to believe Marsquakes do the same on Mars.
"Earthquakes cause friction, and our analysis of ancient rock in the Outer Hebrides has demonstrated how this creates hydrogen. Hydrogen is a fuel for simple microbes, so microbes could live off hydrogen created in the Earth's subsurface as a result of seismic activity," the lead researcher, Professor John Parnell, told The Independent. "This is a model that could apply to any other rocky planet, and on Mars there are so-called 'Marsquakes' that may produce hydrogen and therefore could feed life in the Martian sub-surface."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How Canadian tariffs could impact tourism to the USIn the Spotlight Canadians represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the United States. But they may soon stop visiting.
-
Entitlements: DOGE goes after Social SecurityFeature Elon Musk is pushing false claims about Social Security fraud
-
The Week contest: Amazon BondPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliamentTHE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
-
Arab leaders embrace Egypt's Gaza rebuilding planSpeed Read The $53 billion proposal would rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinian residents
-
Germany's conservatives win power amid far-right gainsSpeed Read The party led by Friedrich Merz won the country's national election; the primary voter issues were the economy and immigration
-
Russia frees US teacher Marc Fogel in murky 'exchange'Speed Read He was detained in Moscow for carrying medically prescribed marijuana
-
Hamas pauses Gaza hostage release, upending ceasefireSpeed Read Hamas postponed the next scheduled hostage release 'until further notice,' accusing Israel of breaking the terms of their ceasefire deal
-
Baltic States unplug from Russian grid, join EU'sSpeed Read Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Soviet-era electricity grid to join the EU's network
-
At least 11 killed in Sweden adult ed school shootingSpeed Read The worst mass shooting in Swedish history took place in Orebro
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysisIn Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
