In the summer of 1962, a young French geologist named Michel Siffre descended into a glacial cave in the French Alps with no clock, no calendar, and no contact with the outside world. When he emerged 63 days later, he didn’t know the date, couldn’t estimate how much time had passed, and described himself as feeling like a “half-crazed, disjointed marionette.”
What had started as a geological expedition became a pioneering experiment in human biology, laying the foundation for the scientific field of chronobiology—the study of the body’s internal clock. Siffre had originally planned to study a newly discovered glacier in Scarasson, a remote and icy cave system located 130 meters below the surface.
His initial goal was to spend just fifteen days underground. But after further reflection, he decided that two weeks would be insufficient for a meaningful investigation. He expanded the expedition to a full two months, designing what would become one of the most extreme self-experiments in scientific history.
Scientists recently announced the tantalizing discovery of ancient prokaryotic and algal cells – which may potentially still be alive – inside an 830-million-year-old rock salt crystal. Now, the researchers have spoken a little bit more about their recent study and suggested they have plans to crack open the crystal in the hope of revealing whether this ancient life is truly still alive.
Initially reported in the journal Geology earlier this month, the team used a selection of imaging techniques to discover well-preserved organic solids locked within fluid inclusions embedded in an 830-million-year-old piece of rock salt, also known as halite. They argue that these objects bear an uncanny resemblance to cells of prokaryotes and algae.
Crystalized rock salt is not capable of sustaining ancient life by itself, so the potential microorganisms are not simply locked within the crystals, like an ant trapped in amber. As rock salt crystals form through the evaporation of salty seawater, they can trap small amounts of water and microscopic organisms in primary fluid inclusions. TO SEE VIDEO AND READ MORE, CLICK HERE...
