'Parallel universe' of life in oceanic crust could be Earth's largest ecosystem
Pretty wild stuff. Its awesome to imagine the largest ecosystem on earth existing in a place no one had really considered before, living in a way never thought possible before. The scientist said "we need to stretch our brains to consider that there should be much to discover." I think thats the best part--stretching our brains to think about life in a new way, and being open and excited about discovery.
The author drives home the message that life will find a way, no matter the obstacles. Though the comparison is weak, I remembered how I love seeing tiny wildflowers growing on high mountain passes, or a dwarfed tree clinging to a cliffside seemingly growing out of the granite. Blasted by wind, covered most of the year by snow, life will pop out when given the chance of a few sunny days. There are people who's lives are so foreign to ours that maybe we would deem it inhospitable for life. Likewise, microbes are making a go of it on the ocean crust.
The author also points out the likelihood for life on other planets. Why wouldn't there be? It will just be in a form we will have to really stretch our minds to even begin to see. Pretty cool to try to think about!
It is mind boggling that there is so much more that we haven't explored and so much we don't "know!" It wasn't too long ago that the Earth was "flat." Who knows maybe we are really all aliens
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