Deep life’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key energy sources, study shows
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jul-2025 19:11 ET (18-Jul-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)
Chinese researchers have recently challenged the long-held belief that "all life depends on sunlight." In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers identified how microbes in deep subsurface areas can derive energy from chemical reactions driven by crustal faulting, offering critical insights into life deep below Earth's surface.
Research teams led by CAS institutions including the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) and the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC), along with Nanjing University and others, have made four landmark discoveries based on the South Pole–Aitken Basin samples. Their findings were published in four cover articles in the journal Nature.