NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Dead Sea is not completely dead. The most saline lake on Earth (more than 10 times saltier than sea water) is a harsh environment where only salt-loving microbes from the Archaea domain, known as extreme halophiles, are able to survive.

Detailed explanation-2: -Archaea have been found in a number of extreme environments on Earth, though they can also be found in non-extreme environments. In the case of the Dead Sea, technically a salt lake, these organisms are known as halophiles, “salt-loving” in Greek.

Detailed explanation-3: -This proves that a form of life other than archaea developed that is potentially still present in these sediments: bacteria. “Archaea have the capacity to withstand the Dead Sea’s very high levels of salinity. Until now, they were the only ones that had been identified in the deep waters of the Dead Sea.

Detailed explanation-4: -Archaea are famous for their love of living in extreme environments. If it’s super hot (more than 100° Celsius), freezing, acidic, alkaline, salty, deep in the ocean, even bombarded by gamma or UV radiation, there’s probably life there, and that life is probably archaeal species.

Detailed explanation-5: -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.