精东传媒

Life

These eerie rock towers may have been built by microorganisms

By Michael Marshall

22 June 2018

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These strange limestone towers rear above the surface of the lake

Description:imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo

Rock 鈥渃himneys鈥 twice as tall as a person that tower above a lake in California may have been built, in part, by microorganisms. If that is confirmed, similar towers could give away the presence of life on other planets.

Mono Lake is extremely salty and highly alkaline. Despite these inhospitable conditions, it is home to a thriving ecosystem, including scuba-diving flies. In 2010 it came to worldwide attention after scientists claimed that bacteria from Mono Lake could incorporate arsenic into their DNA…

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