

Last place on Earth without life - S4M
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140303-last-place-on-earth-without-life

======
lucaspiller
What effect does salt have (in general) that causes microorganisms problems?
Is it just sodium chloride, or do other salts have the same effect?

~~~
tstactplsignore
A high salt gradient outside of the cell creates osmotic pressure which causes
water to leave the cell, essentially drying the inside of the cell out
completely. All solutes have this kind of osmotic effect, so that would
include all salts. Organisms deal with it by pumping Potassium ions inside of
their cells (to match the outside concentration with a strong inside
concentration) and by creating a bunch of (safe) organic molecules on the
inside of the cell to match the osmotic pressure created by solutes on the
outside of the cell.

------
EwanG
And in the first paragraph it discusses that there IS some life there, just
not much. Interesting, but a bit of a sensationalist title given it's the BBC.

~~~
ars
You didn't read all of it.

The "last place" referred to in the title is the Don Juan Pond not the Atacama
Desert mentioned in the first paragraph.

