Scientists studying the prospects of extra-terrestrial life on other planets have refined a definition of habitability noting that life could exist on planets where H2 and CO2 dominated atmospheres limiting possibilities to just the planet’s surface.
They then ran growth experiments on E. coli placing it in varying atmospheres to see the effect.
They discovered that while E. coli grew in all atmospheres, there was a definite differentiation on how effectively it grew depending on the atmosphere with CO2 impacting the growth rate the most.
This highlights the need to take into account a variety of factors when considering the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life on other planets.
