Seafloor bacteria bring new questions about the Evolution

[trux]

Well, this is not really freediving science topic, but related to water, so I guess it may interest some of you.

Several quite interesting and important research results were announced lately. These discoveries may well lead to rewriting the history of evolution of life on Earth.

The article Rock Eating Bacteria Bring New Questions About The Evolution Of Life On Earth | Scientific Blogging speaks about discovery of unexpectedly huge quantities of bacteria on deep ocean floor - in total darkness, and unlike in some previous cases where bacteria was detected near geothermal seafloor vents, this bacteria lives in cold water.

Scientists have found bacteria growing on oceanic crust in concentrations that are thousands- to ten-thousand times (three to four orders of magnitude) greater than what is found in the overlying waters.
...
“We were truly shocked to find microbial life thriving at the levels we observed,”
...
The findings open up new questions about the evolution of Earth and of seafloor life. With evidence that the oceanic crust supports more bacteria than overlying water, the scientists hypothesized that reactions with the rocks themselves might offer fuel for life.
...
The newfound abundance of seafloor microbes makes it possible that early life thrived --and perhaps began-- on the seafloor.

And not only on the seafloor, but also deep underground, there is plenty of bacteria. Lately I read regularly about new deeper and deeper discoveries. Some of the articles are listed below:

Life Found a Mile Below Terrestrial Seabed; Implications For Life on Mars | Universe Today
Bacteria Found Nearly 2 Miles Underground | LiveScience

These discoveries put also the theory about the origin of so called "fossil fuels" into a quite different light. Well, the fossil origin was questioned already before by diverse scientists, and never really made sense, but it was and is promoted especially by the oil and chemistry industry that profits from the panic about limited "fossil fuel" resources.

There is an excellent and very well comprehensible document by professor Thomas Gold, explaining the scam, here:

SEMP: Evidence-based disaster management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.

Other similar resources are available for example here:
Sustainable oil?
Wired 8.07: Fuel's Paradise