Weird New Forms of Bacterial Life Found in the Dead Sea
Life in the Dead Sea Photograph courtesy Christian Lott, Hydra InstituteNot so dead now, is it? Deep in the depths of the Dead Sea, new life has been discovered. Thanks to newly found freshwater springs, certain forms of bacteria thrive, bacteria that, unlike other known freshwater and saltwater bacteria, can cope with rapidly changing salinity. It's the intriguing results of the first study of the Dead Sea in years, a rare undertaking partly because "accidentally swallowing Dead Sea salt water would cause the larynx to inflate, resulting in immediate choking and suffocation." When the Jordan River's entry into the Dead Sea was cut off in the 1950s to provide more fresh water for Jordan, the sea's main source of fresh water was cut off. Ever since, the Dead Sea has been getting deader and deader, as far more water evaporates than is fed back into it (the sea's water level...