259: Chapter 259 Biological Samples

Inside the research station, in the sterile laboratory, a female microbiologist named Katherine Miller carefully dripped a drop of turbid liquid onto a special petri dish, placed it on the stage, and lowered her head to observe.

"Katherine, how is it?"

A few hours later, a Professor nearby came in excitedly to ask; if there was anything, it would be a major discovery.

Katherine had captured several images under the microscope and stated solemnly, "We can notify Professor Bloyva to hold a meeting."

Ten minutes later, about twenty scientists gathered in a separate conference room in the research station.

"Katherine, I heard there might be some findings," Professor Bloyva said gently from the head of the table, "Tell us the results."

"Alright," Katherine stood up and turned on the screen, which displayed several high-definition images, and she clicked on the first one.

"Everyone, this is what it looks like magnified fifty times under a standard optical microscope. Most of what you see are common mineral debris, ice crystal particles, and some impurities from the Mars soil. It doesn't seem much different from ordinary muddy water."

"But when magnified 200 times, you will discover a new World."

Katherine zoomed in on the image, and everyone saw specks of different colors hidden among the impurities. Only upon closer inspection did they realize these were actually several types of microorganisms.

"These are the microorganisms I found in the sample. The first one looks a bit like the chaetognath sea worms on Earth."

Katherine clicked to the next image and introduced, "They have slender bodies, usually 0.05-0.1 millimeters long, and can be divided into three parts: head, trunk, and tail. The head is slightly swollen, with six spines on both sides and several rows of small teeth, all of which are predatory organs..."

After finishing, Katherine zoomed in on the image. In the middle of these chaetognath sea worms, there were several smaller spots, only one-third their size.

"Their structure dictates that they are predators. These copepod larvae in the middle are their food. These copepod larvae are circular, with two antennae and five pairs of bristles..."

"As you can all see, these chaetognath sea worms have a hunting awareness. This is more similar to those on Earth, which actually reminds me of a hypothesis," Katherine said with a smile.

"Dr. Katherine, are you referring to the Mars origin theory? That the life on Earth originally came from Mars?" A geological expert in the seat showed a thoughtful expression.

This hypothesis suggests that three billion years ago, Mars was likely not as desolate as it is today; it might have had a denser atmosphere, warmer surface temperatures, and perhaps even vast areas of liquid water.

However, this theory is shaky in many aspects. Now that these microorganisms have been discovered on Mars, it provides some evidence.

"That is indeed my thought..." Katherine smiled, and after introducing several microorganisms of different forms, she continued, "Furthermore, I also found several types of algae. These algae belong to single-celled prokaryotes."

A new image appeared on the screen, showing some irregularly shaped clumps or filaments, with a dull brownish-red color.

"These algae are completely different from the green algae we imagine that require sunlight," Katherine zoomed in on one of the clumps, "Please note their structure. They lack chlorophyll and chloroplasts, and are anaerobic organisms that do not require photosynthesis."

"Then what do they rely on to survive?" An expert who was a complete layman in this field couldn't help but ask.

"Geothermal energy and chemosynthesis," Katherine said firmly. "They live in an environment of permanently dark, near-freezing underground lakes where there is no sunlight. Their energy source is the geothermal heat seeping up from the lake bottom or surrounding rock layers, as well as reducing inorganic substances dissolved in the water, such as hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, ferrous ions, etc."

"That sounds..." a bearded man pondered, "very much like certain archaea and chemosynthetic bacterial communities near deep-sea hydrothermal vents on ancient Earth. They also rely on the heat energy and hydrogen sulfide spewed by hot springs to survive and build the foundation of the food chain."

"Professor Valerian is correct; that is exactly what I wanted to say." After adding a few more points, Katherine reached the final conclusion.

"Everyone, there is indeed an active microbial ecosystem in the underground lakes of Mars. There is life on Mars!"

Faced with this news, which was enough to shock the outside World beyond measure or trigger a celebration in the entire Earth biological community, the people present were somewhat indifferent.

They had seen Titan; could this be more shocking than Titan? Just grabbing a handful of soil from Titan could overshadow this.

"Now we have a further understanding of Mars." Seeing this, Professor Bloyva, as the person in charge of the Mars Plan, said slowly, "Colleagues, life on Mars is a major discovery. Although it is only some microorganisms, we must still take it seriously. I hope to get more data on them and upload it to the company's database."

"For example, their other species, their evolutionary history, and whether it is possible for them to pose a threat to us..."

Everyone quieted down and listened carefully to Professor Bloyva's words.

"Katherine, you and Rhodes are responsible for this matter. Try to finish it within two days. By then, I need to report the progress of the Mars Plan to the BOSS."

"Understood," Katherine and the man named Rhodes looked serious and nodded in agreement.

——

After the meeting, more underground lake samples were collected and sent to the analysis room. Faced with this huge workload, Katherine and Rhodes had to find several members of the action team who were good at biology to help.

Zhou Shiqi was one of them. She was a Ph.D. graduate from the School of Biological Sciences at the Central Continent University. In the eyes of the outside World, she was already outstanding enough and was a leader among the younger generation in the Earth's academic World, but in front of Katherine Miller, she still showed signs of nervousness.

"Professor Katherine, Zhou Shiqi reporting to you." After entering the analysis room, Zhou Shiqi spoke to the busy figure. She had originally been exploring the environment with Ella, but had rushed over immediately after receiving the order.

Katherine looked up, glanced at her quickly, and smiled slightly, "Zhou Shiqi, you came just in time. You understand what you need to do, right? These sample tubes are for you." Katherine pointed to the workbench nearby.

"Understood, Professor Katherine. If there are any questions, I will consult you." Zhou Shiqi replied hurriedly and walked to the workbench to start her analysis.

The sample labels had numbers and collection coordinates written on them. After picking one up at random, Zhou Shiqi was stunned when she saw the number on it: Sample 444.

This number was not auspicious. Zhou Shiqi smiled helplessly, took out the sampling tube, and began the analysis. However, the first glance under the microscope made her frown, and a strange feeling made her heart beat faster.

"Professor Katherine, could you please come and take a look at this?" Zhou Shiqi called out.

"Found a problem so quickly?" Katherine, who was nearby, walked over and took a look at the microscope lens, only to look away after one glance.

"It's just ordinary copepod larvae. Be serious." After saying that, Katherine continued her work.

They were indeed copepod larvae, but their behavior... didn't Professor Katherine notice? Puzzled, Zhou Shiqi looked back at the lens and found that these microorganisms had dispersed at some point. She clearly remembered that at the first glance, these microorganisms had formed a strange pattern, a bit like an octopus.