Scientists believe that purple bacteria that can produce their own food through photosynthesis could be the new guide to extraterrestrial life.
Scientists at Cornell and Minnesota universities in the US have announced that the search for life on more than 5,500 exoplanets detected so far has brought a new era.
The scientists, who decided to look for extraterrestrial life outside of Earth’s color “green”, found in their new research that the surfaces of other planets are similar to those covered with purple bacteria that can produce their own food through photosynthesis.
Pointing out that unlike Earth, which is full of oxygen and light, other planets are different, scientists concluded that the surfaces of these planets may also be covered with purple bacteria that do not need light and oxygen.
Scientists believe that purple bacteria will be the new key to studying life beyond Earth, and that the color purple will be a distinguishing feature in the future.
Purple bacteria are the new guide to studying extraterrestrial life
Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger from Cornell University explained that purple bacteria thrive in a wide variety of conditions, and thanks to their pigments, they also contain yellow, orange, brown and red colors.
Kaltenegger noted that these purple bacteria, which thrive with low energy, could be new guides in the study of extraterrestrial life.
Source: AA