The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity | K. Lloyd

The ground beneath your feet is home to a massive, mysterious world of microbes -- some of which have been in the earth's crust for hundreds of thousands of years. What's it like down there? Take a trip to the volcanoes and hot springs of Costa Rica as microbiologist Karen Lloyd shines a light on these subterranean organisms and shows how they could have a profound impact on life up here.

[singingmyblue]

This got to be my favorite TED talk ever. She's so fun and her narration is perfectly captivating. I could hear her explaining things to me for hours, she's so goodat it. So proud of her discovery and hard work. That's one smart lady.

[JJ-kleq]

I’ve never been openly proud of the microbes in my digestive tract. Although I do think I’ve appreciated them just through gut instinct.

[camilopedrosa]

I love when Karen Lloyd teach or explain something, because nobody can do better with the pasión and time that she puts in it.

[michaelpisciarino]

0:14 Solid Earth:
- Cracks filled with microbes 🦠
0:49 100, 000 tons of microbes 🦠
40 Billion Tons 🦠

2:46 They haven’t divided in a very very long time
3:52 Dormant
4:09 Sealing up E-Coli, Survival of The Fittest, Fight vs Young Boys, Old Guys Win

4:45 Slow doesn’t mean unimportant (who ever said the reverse?)

4:56 Subsurface Living
(1) Snacks from Above
(2) Chill Chow Down

5:48 Praise The Sun ☀️

Who will make The Underground’s Food?
6:10 Chemolithoautotroph
• Chemicals From Rocks to Make Food

Rust, Pyrite, Limestone
Biology 🧪 or Geology?

7:46 Volcanoes 🌋 🌋
9:12 Exit Strategy
Oh Carlos
9:30 KA-BOOM!
10:24 Costa Rican Hot Springs

11:56 Could Underground Help Surface Level Co2 Problems
12:48 The Discoveries/Possibilities Are Endless

[pthomasgarcia]

Excellent talk. Soil and subterranean microbiology seems an exciting field of study. Thanks for sharing.

[comment.highlighted]

Hmm... that tree analogy was actually very cool. It opened my mind to seeing things differently all together 🤔

[foysalmahmud]

You never know where the solution is coming from. But Chemolithoautotroph? Didn't see that coming.

[Woollzable]

Great presentation. The latest IPCC report states that we will probably not be able to keep the global avg temperature from rising 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels without the help of Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS). These are processes by which the CO2 is literally sucked out of the air and stored underground. One of the biggest worries about CCS has been the possibility that the CO2 will resurface via cracks & fissures etc. This could be really helpful in keeping it below the surface.

[AceofDlamonds]

2:45 this was always the most mind blowing thing to me about these deep biosphere organisms. Some scientists call them the "undead" because they apparently live so long without reproducing. The timescale is totally different from surface critters.

[ayman-hosny]

I've translated this TED's piece into Arabic that I want everybody speaking Arabic to enjoy with it. Thank you TED!

[truthseekermedia]

Something about helping and not hurting Humanity, I'm all ears !!!

[attilahorvath]

great talk/presentation Dr. Lloyd - thank you

[shintsu]

The planet is one big living entity and we are mere pests walking on the surface not knowing this is the case. Super interesting talk opened up a new world for me :)

[hannahf]

imagine combining the power of chemolithoautotrophs with cyanobacteria to kind of filter the atmosphere from CO2 excess

[JohnCalebWarren]

I was teaching my kid to ride a bike without training wheels, gave them a push and noticed this video pop up in my feed. Im watching it right now & so drawn in! Kid should be ok

[DanielVerberne]

Tommy Gold and the Deep Hot Biosphere were seminal moments in science, from what I've read. The idea that anything could live deep under the Earth's crust was not believed at first - it just hows how much the habitability zone for life has been stretching out in all directions for years. Of course, then there was the discovery of a whole ecosystem living off the 'black smokers' in the mid-atlantic ridge.... life is amazing.

[SipanTseliker]

THIS IS SO FUCKING INSPIRING IT MADE ME CRY TEARS OF JOY!!!

[stuslater]

What's the coolest thing about geology?
Me: earthquakes
Her: volcanoes
Me: dang she's right

[robertwalker]

Fantastic presentation! I showed this to my undergrads and they loved it - thank you.

[roboodonnell]

Very informative and most interesting. You are appreciated