Journal on 4/21
The first oxygen-free multicellular organisms were discovered! I did a video for this unbelievable find.
It's awesome. But if you don't feel like spending the 4 minutes of your life checking it out, here's a brief overview. So the scientists found these microscopic, jellyfish-like creatures in a Mediterranean dead zone. Marine dead zones have shockingly low breathable oxygen levels, so much so that if a crab, star fish, or other slow moving creature would suffocate just by moving it through it. Some fast fish can swim right through, but it's still completely uninhabitable. Or at least it is for anything but the loricifera. These newly discovered creatures aren't only able to sustain life in these dead zones, but they thrive in it. They live and breed in these conditions, without the help of any amount of oxygen at all. They're extremophiles gone multicellular.
So the biggest reason these creatures are able to survive is because they lack mitochondria. Most living creatures have mitochondria, which utilize oxygen to make energy. However, the loricifera have mitochondria rip-offs called hydrogenosomes, which don't use oxygen to make energy.
The coolest thing about this discovery is that is revolutionizes how we see extraterrestrial life. If these creatures can survive in marine dead zones, then we may be able to find life on other planets that lack oxygen. In fact, Europa, a moon of Jupiter, likely has a sub-surface ocean that matches the description of the Mediterranean dead zone. Even if we can't find life there, maybe one day we can introduce it.
Article: Oxygen-Free Animals Discovered—A First
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