NASA has discovered that a "long-dormant life" has been inside the Naica crystal cave for 10,000 to 50,000 years. This is said to be proof that microbes can thrive in extreme conditions.

The Director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute in Moffett Field, California Dr. Penelope Boston, who made the discovery, made the revelation during the annual gathering of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Friday.

Like Us on Facebook

"Other people have made longer-term claims for the antiquity of organisms that were still alive, but in this case, these organisms are all very extraordinary - they are not very closely related to anything in the known genetic databases," she said, according to BBC.

The environment inside Naica's crystal cave, according to the new director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, is between 40 and 60 degrees Celsius. Aside from being extremely hot, it is also humid and acidic.

Researchers have reportedly declared that microbes have thrived within the walls of the cave despite the fact that it has "no light at depth" inside. This means that they were able to use chemosynthesis to survive. This is a process wherein they derive their energy by processing rock metals.

Boston further explained that the discovery of various organisms in the Mexican caves has made her realize that there is a "great diversity of life."

"Other groups have shown there are lots of viruses in these caves and what that says to me is that these are fully fledged microbial communities that have their viral load just like every other community does," she said. "So, that's another aspect of this that argues against casual contamination."

Meanwhile, Phys reported that the life forms that exist inside the crystal cave are composed of 40 different types of microbes and viruses. They are reportedly "so weird that their nearest relatives are still 10 percent different genetically."