
Unexpected Life Found in the Ocean's Deepest Trench - benbreen
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/25/372894314/unexpected-life-found-in-the-oceans-deepest-trench
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ceejayoz
This is why the term "habitable zone" can be a bit laughable.

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cjensen
So far as has been observed, life does require liquid water. Some life can
cease activity when dry and then restart when water resumes, but no life has
been found that can live in an entirely dry environment. If this proves to be
a requirement for life, that does validate the notion of a habitable zone.

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ceejayoz
> So far as has been observed, life does require liquid water.

That's a bit like a newborn baby saying "so far as has been observed, there
are only a couple people in existence".

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RickHull
That strikes me as a reasonable assumption to hold, pending evidence to the
contrary.

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ceejayoz
A baby doesn't have evidence that there's stuff outside his/her perceptions.
We do - knowing that we keep finding extremophiles in hot springs and
underground rocks and water in unexpected places like Mars and Europa, we
should be a lot more careful than a baby when we say "this is how it is".

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TeMPOraL
But then again, this is an universal counterargument and can be used to
dismiss any kind of selection as hubris. We need to act to the best the
information available allows us and learn from mistakes.

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placebo
I wonder what functionality eyes serve at that depth, and if none, why do the
fish that live at these depths have them?

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bartonfink
That reminds me of something I didn't really like about the otherwise
excellent Europa Report.

<rot13> Jul jbhyq gur Rhebcn perngherf unir ribyirq ovbyhzvarfprapr, naq
rfcrpvnyyl gur novyvgl gb hfr vg sbe pbzzhavpngvba, tvira gurve raivebazrag?
Nyy yvsr ba Rhebcn jbhyq unir ribyirq va n yvtugyrff bprna, beovgvat n
eryngviryl snvag Fha, ohevrq haqre n eryngviryl guvpx pehfg bs vpr. Guvf frrzf
yvxr vg jbhyq cerpyhqr gur qrirybczrag bs gur rlr (jr frr gung gur rlr vf
fryrpgrq ntnvafg va pnir-qjryyvat svfu, sbe vafgnapr), naq guhf jbhyq znxr
ovbyhzvarfprapr varssrpgvir naq na haarprffnel jnfgr bs cerfhznoyl fpnepr
erfbheprf. </rot13>

It's not a major point, but it struck me as odd given the otherwise rigorous
nature of the film.

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ceejayoz
Yvtug zvtug or cerfrag ba Rhebcn'f bprna sybbe sebz ihypnavfz.

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anigbrowl
Wow, it's surprisingly crowded. This makes me optimistic for exploration of
Europa.

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adamio
Apparently in the article it's mostly fueled by surface life; but there is
also life around geothermal vents

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gee_totes
I wonder how sensitive these forms of life that live in such hostile
conditions are to climate change. Perhaps in the future, we will farm them for
food once the oceans acidify.

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lskearney
When I read articles like this, I think back to the Jeff Goldblum line in
Jurassic Park: Life finds a way.

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BoardsOfCanada
Is this really unexpected given all the other places life has been found?

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known
95% of seabed is not yet discovered by mankind.

