05.08.2026 00:50
In a study conducted near the Antarctic continent at Blood Falls, scientists discovered molecular evidence of a community of microscopic eukaryotic organisms. Researchers noted that this finding suggests seawater may have entered the valley during Antarctica's ancient periods and become trapped beneath the glacier. They also revealed that biological clues that could shed light on the continent's past may be present in the waterfall.
Researchers in the US have made a remarkable discovery near Blood Falls, a glacier in Antarctica that flows with red-colored water.
167 SAMPLES ANALYZED, MOLECULAR EVIDENCE FOUND
According to a statement from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego in the US, researchers conducted a study on Blood Falls, which flows red due to iron-rich salty water from Taylor Glacier in Antarctica.
Analyzing 167 samples collected from near the glacier's terminus and from different habitats in the valley where the falls pour, researchers used RNA analysis to identify organisms in the samples and determine whether they were active.
Researchers found molecular evidence of a community of active, marine-derived microscopic eukaryotic organisms near the glacier's terminus.
CLUES MAY EXIST THAT COULD SHED LIGHT ON THE CONTINENT'S PAST
Researchers noted that this finding suggests seawater may have entered the valley during Antarctica's ancient periods and become trapped beneath the glacier, revealing that biological clues that could shed light on the continent's past may exist in the falls.
Researchers also found active eukaryotes among the samples with gene activity linked to photosynthesis, stress responses, cellular repair, and survival in salty conditions.
The results of the research were published in the journal "Nature Geoscience."