The evidence mounts that bacteria can be effectively immortal. Featuring the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s Expedition 329 to the South Pacific Gyre. By Jennifer Frazer on March 4, 2021.

Earth’s crust appears to be simply lousy with idling, ancient bacteria parked in power-save mode, ready at nearly a moment’s notice to throw the gearshift into drive. But what a life! Eons spent entombed in a dark, airless, silent matrix, barely eating, barely breathing, barely moving, barely living. But not dead. Not dead. Featuring the modeling study from C-DEBI Contribution 438 (Bradley et al., 2018 in Geobiology).