Research of an Indian scientist to discover life and water on Mars
Some time ago, a study of three huge saltwater lakes was found under the ice at the south pole of Mars. Similar lakes also exist on earth that contain extremophiles, that is, microorganisms that can live in an extremely hot or extremely cold environment. Shatakshi Asthana spoke with Indian-born scientist Dr Ram Karan, who works on similar extremophiles for Navbharat Times Online. These organisms can live without oxygen, at subzero temperatures, and in salt water where other organisms cannot survive. They are found on the deep Antarctic Lake on Earth and similar creatures can be found in the Lakes of Mars. Dr Ram Karan researched this organism at the University of Maryland, funded by the US space agency NASA. Dr Karan Red C., a young enzymological researcher at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, is conducting research in Antarctica. Read here, interesting things told by Dr Ram Karan about life on Mars and these untouched corners of the earth.
The pursuit of “ life ” on earth
Dr Ram Karan, in collaboration with researchers from Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia and France, discovered the characteristics of a microorganism found in Antarctica that allows it to survive in conditions similar to the environment of Mars. This research has been accepted by a prestigious international scientific journal “Microorganism” based in Switzerland. This particular microorganism was discovered in a very large salt lake “Deep Lake” in Antarctica. Dr. Ram Karan discovered an enzyme “lactase” in this organism. He also explained in detail its design.
It is not known whether life is present in Mars’ atmosphere or not, but expeditions from NASA and other countries are working to find out.
In 2017, one of his articles in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America discussed Antarctic microorganisms. It has been said that the molecular basis of life for bacteria is like life on Mars and the discovery of other planets in our galaxy.