The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity | K. Lloyd 110,513 viewsJul 12, 2019

The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity | K. Lloyd 110,513 viewsJul 12, 2019 TED 21.1M subscribers 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. Get TED Talks recommended just for you! Learn more at https://www.ted.com/signup . The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request here: https://media-requests.ted.com/ Follow TED on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/TED 252 Comments rongmaw lin Add a comment... SingingMyBlue SingingMyBlue 2 years ago 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. 30 P. Thomas Garcia P. Thomas Garcia 2 years ago Excellent talk. Soil and subterranean microbiology seems an exciting field of study. Thanks for sharing. 29 Camilo Pedrosa Camilo Pedrosa 2 years ago I love when Karen Lloyd teach or explain something, because nobody can do better with the pasión and time that she puts in it. 5 Michael Pisciarino Michael Pisciarino 2 years ago (edited) 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 65 J J J J 2 years ago 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. 122 V Ling V Ling 1 year ago 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. G11713 G11713 2 years ago Interestingly, this also affirmatively answers the question of whether rock eating aliens can exist. I was expecting her to also mention geothermal energy as a food source for these microbes. 1 Robert Walker Robert Walker 1 year ago Fantastic presentation! I showed this to my undergrads and they loved it - thank you. Walid A Jalil Walid A Jalil 2 years ago (edited) 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. 3 Comment Highlighted Comment Highlighted 2 years ago Hmm... that tree analogy was actually very cool. It opened my mind to seeing things differently all together 🤔 19 Nathan Okun Nathan Okun 9 months ago This is interesting. I thought this would be true a few decades ago. My bottom was more like 25 miles down and I originally I thought that they would only be single-cell organisms. However, recent info shows that there are even a few multicellular organisms in this mix, which is amazing. It would seem that only the temperature that literally burns up the organic materials is the limit for such organisms. There would even be collective behavior over this entire biom. I am just speculating and may be wildly wrong, but I would assume that such organisms have formed an entire planet-spanning network where they interact with each-other to form a kind of "super-organism" that has major effects on ALL of the other living things on this planet. They are numerous enough and have had enough time to do such a thing and it would absolutely guarantee that they could keep their own environment to their liking. Things like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs would merely be a local "incident" to such a thing. l0_0l l0_0l 2 years ago Wow!! As a mechanical engineer, the field of green engineering interests me a lot. Now these scientists would have to prove that chemolithoautotrophs are more energy efficient than industrial carbon sequestration techniques to be a viable option to reverse climate change. Also the environmental impact of excess carbonates needs to be assessed for side affects of using chemolithoautotrophs. 1 ShinTsu ShinTsu 2 years ago 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 :) 8 Daniel Verberne Daniel Verberne 2 years ago 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. leyubar1 leyubar1 2 years ago I really enjoy the tree analogy 80 Teo Estevez Teo Estevez 2 years ago Thank you!! TED!! Thank you very much, much love and gratitude for all you do... I love all your videos, we are learning so much nothing is going's going to stop us now. We are reaching for the stars. Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen. Blessings to all. michale andmore michale andmore 2 years ago Life is amazing, it finds a way , no light no problem, life still happens 2 Hannah F Hannah F 2 years ago imagine combining the power of chemolithoautotrophs with cyanobacteria to kind of filter the atmosphere from CO2 excess 11 dakrontu dakrontu 2 years ago 100,000 tons of human gut biome is 100 million kg which means only about 13 grams per average person. I think she may have that figure wrong. As for microbes dividing during the night growing to equal the mass of the Earth, it is amazing what you can do with exponentials, but that is theoretical, ignoring the impact of hitting the Malthusian walls of the petri dish and starving. Foysal Mahmud Foysal Mahmud 2 years ago You never know where the solution is coming from. But Chemolithoautotroph? Didn't see that coming. 57 Guy Mercier Guy Mercier 2 years ago Beautiful presentation loved it. keep on the good work 3 Ayman Hosny Ayman Hosny 2 years ago I've translated this TED's piece into Arabic that I want everybody speaking Arabic to enjoy with it. Thank you TED! 1 Mmm K Mmm K 2 years ago The longevity of these microbes intrigues me! 1 Ian Grant Ian Grant 2 years ago What an awesome talk! Thank you!!!! ❤️ UNSTOPPABLE-AR UNSTOPPABLE-AR 2 years ago Amazing speaker, beautiful mind and a great presentation. Well done. 2 Ayman Hosny Ayman Hosny 2 years ago I've translated this video into Arabic for TED, and hoping to be useful for all Arabic speakers and others who are interested in. 1 Hi I'm a cat Hi I'm a cat 10 months ago THIS IS SO FUCKING INSPIRING IT MADE ME CRY TEARS OF JOY!!! 1 Traywor Traywor 2 years ago (edited) So, have i understood this right that if these microbes, which are preventing the carbon dioxid from bubbling up into the athmosphere, would vanish, we would have a much bigger athmospheric problem, than we have now? Chris Lenny Chris Lenny 2 years ago (edited) If we inject the autotrophs' environment with additional resources, we should at least begin to understand their ecosystem. Someone give Karen a team and a healthy grant to do research. Four Letter Words Four Letter Words 2 years ago These microbes could be a double-edged sword. While they could help us, who's to say that we wouldn't get a new disease or the side effects that could incur. 7 wquon2007 wquon2007 2 years ago CO2 in the air isnt a bad thing (please check out friends of science channel), the deserts are starting to regreen, the earth is greener now that it was 20 years ago, north america is greener now that it was 100 years ago. the bigger issue is CO2 in the oceans that are increasing their acidity. Fred Fredrickson Fred Fredrickson 2 years ago Interesting one. This seams like both an enlightening and promising field. StuSlaterVideos StuSlaterVideos 2 years ago What's the coolest thing about geology? Me: earthquakes Her: volcanoes Me: dang she's right 4 Glenn Reid Glenn Reid 2 years ago What are the microbes metabolising the CO2 into? KoKo FitFaded KoKo FitFaded 2 years ago Interesting! My mind, blown. 🤯 3 Benedict Ngang Benedict Ngang 2 years ago The thing is mankind is overestimated. We think we're the crown of all existence. Yet, we all die with two centuries. See how hard it is to study one little planet: Earth! Chemolithoautotrophs... Surely, this is novel. The scope is now open for exploration! Thanks... Quecksilber Quecksilber 2 years ago (edited) Wait a second. Does that mean those Chemolithoautotrophs are able to make something physical (food) from electricity? They make matter out of energy? Or do they use electricity AND for exaple minerals to get a chemical reaction running? Sorry i am not a native English i hope i understood that correct. Nv3 Nv3 2 years ago This is very interesting 38 Callum Gillman Callum Gillman 2 years ago Ok Ideas that come to me from this immediately: 1. can we create a 'rock-based' filter housing that accommodates billions of said CO2 munching Microbes. The 'rock' for the filter be very pourous and therefore 'light' and able to house a much higher density of micobes i.e. activated carbon where billions of wee pockets exist.. Can we 3D print this 'rock-based filter compound and add the microbes in during the printing process to form highly effective channels through said pockets to allow for maximal CO2 absorption? Does this have massive implications for space applications etc.. we could 'take the mircobes' to Mars say, then Print the filter using regolith and house our new colony of CO2 scrubbers? #elonmusk 2. can we therefore use 'Oceanic Nutrient Seeding' near subduction zones to cause and algae bloom.. 5 tonnes of chelated Iron in the ocean will result in an Algal bloom that will suck between 40-50 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 into the ocean where the algae would naturally die and fall to the oceans floor, taking with it vast amounts of CO2 into the subduction zones locked up in Dead Algal Cells that could then be eaten by those subterranean microbes and locked away once again in the earths crust? 3. Can we use CRISPR to enhance the CO2 binding chemical reactions to make said bacteria filthy fast at absorbing CO2? Scientists... take ur marks... GO! Hadee Krad Hadee Krad 2 years ago İt's interesting that some of these microbes can be helpful. Though it's scary to think some of those microbes could be harmful and cause a totally new epidemic 💀 Jörg Kampmann Jörg Kampmann 2 years ago thanks for this super talk. This could possibly a solution to the odds of climate change (AGW) 1 alexanderoekr alexanderoekr 2 years ago These kind researches we as humans should approach instead of fighting with each other and arguing about religions. Daniel Barrow Daniel Barrow 2 years ago Well done. 1 Erik Erik 2 years ago This ROCKS ! Mind blowing.. Truth Seeker Truth Seeker 2 years ago (edited) Something about helping and not hurting Humanity, I'm all ears !!! 18 Animesh Sharma Animesh Sharma 2 years ago Deep sub-surface biology, sounds like sub AI ;) 1 Ono Northey Ono Northey 2 years ago the chemolithoautotroph bit was fascinating!! kelly mcclure kelly mcclure 2 years ago (edited) So what can these do? They are living, so what can they do? Can they evolve? Into something that most humans do not normally see? I think you are close but missing it. I was Born to survive I was Born to survive 2 years ago 마치 아바타의 시고니위버가 맡은 박사같네요 굉장히 멋진 강의였어요 CharlieX CharlieX 2 years ago Very interesting talk zerooskul zerooskul 2 years ago The human lifespan IS significantly shorter than trees. We know they do stuff, not because we live as long as a redwood but because we can examine living and dead redwoods. Anahita Wilson Anahita Wilson 2 years ago I’m guessing that you can only account for microbes that can be grown in Petri dishes, how do you account for those that can be grown in a dish? Willow Wisp Willow Wisp 2 years ago I have to wonder how much of our petroleum is produced by this underground life. 9 Glen Jennett Glen Jennett 2 months ago It just proves that the Earth itself is a living organism and it is interesting when you compare the Earth to our own bodies and find similarities. We are parasites living on the earth just as we have parasites that live in and on us. Mario D. Zmaj Mario D. Zmaj 2 years ago this woman is awesome muthukumaranl muthukumaranl 2 years ago AWESOME!....Chemolithoautotrophs...learnt something important today...thanks to the amazing Karen Lloyd! 2 Walking Crow Walking Crow 2 years ago First to figure out how to use microbes to lock CO2 into crystal form gets to be the Father/Mother of the diamond age. I want it in a spray can so I can diamond coat my sunglasses. Esraa Bassiouni Esraa Bassiouni 2 years ago Thanks for sharing this 1 Ramanan Govindaraj Ramanan Govindaraj 2 years ago Stunning Victor Mcbride Victor Mcbride 2 years ago Best way to explain climate change Zenful Pariah Zenful Pariah 1 year ago "IF YOU CUT THE END OFF AN ELECTRICAL CHORD...THEY CAN BREATH IT LIKE A SNORKEL".....🤣🤣🤣im dead Buggy Boy Buggy Boy 2 years ago Umbrella Corp would gladly research these critters! 5 Ahammed Nabeel Ahammed Nabeel 2 years ago Awesome 👍 1 Ending Object Ending Object 2 years ago Fantastic Work :) Eli M Eli M 2 years ago great talk Anahita Wilson Anahita Wilson 2 years ago Very interesting talk! Jared Mitchell Jared Mitchell 2 years ago I wonder then if lightning is an all you can eat buffet for them? Robert Komarek Robert Komarek 2 years ago So ... we're going to disturb a system of microbes we don't understand to help solve a problem ...which we don't understand. Mcbeg33 Mcbeg33 2 years ago There’s nothing sexier than an intelligent woman with a sense of humor. Great presentation. sam sam 2 years ago This is an excellent study not useless mapping of skys and stuff this is to helo humanity thanks Aryu Furreal Aryu Furreal 2 years ago (edited) "I? I am a monument to all your sins." - Gravemind 1 Olavo Belintani Olavo Belintani 2 years ago Please. Excuse me. Congratulations Mrs. Karen. Professional researchers like you who make a difference on the planet. My sincere respect, admiration and gratitude. Thank you very much. São Paulo State. Santos City BRZ طــارق الكـبـــش طــارق الكـبـــش 2 years ago How about we have humans help each other first? Guess the microbes have more empathy. Blogu Toma Blogu Toma 1 year ago Dont know why but this seems like something Araki would use. cing earth cingearth cing earth cingearth 9 months ago Amazing Fossor Fossor 2 years ago (edited) A huge undersurface biom - yay, another row in my Mysophobic list! 1 Eugene Lee Eugene Lee 2 years ago 존나멋있어 리얼 TheWanderer TheWanderer 2 years ago hey, here's a thought: how about trees? OohEhOohAhah TingTang OohEhOohAhah TingTang 2 years ago They are tracking down Malphite lmao whatever whatever 2 years ago biology is geology boz boz 2 years ago I love her...enthusiasm John Caleb Warren John Caleb Warren 2 years ago 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 1 Back To Earth Back To Earth 2 years ago This is super awesome news! Maybe we can erase our carbon footprints bit by bit! Am super excited! So like Buddha said, the Earth will destruct itself and life will originate from deep down! Maybe humans will perish and life will evolve again 🙏😊 India Art India Art 2 years ago Super Beautiful Lady. Amazing Fittness (Speaker) 3 2garv2 2garv2 2 years ago I like this! Rick Harold Rick Harold 2 years ago Fascinating Ayla Ramazanli Ayla Ramazanli 2 years ago SUPER TOPIC AGAIN! 17 Craig Keller Craig Keller 2 years ago What a mind! Divya Murugesan Divya Murugesan 2 years ago Hey yeah! I am living everywhere - Microbes 🥴😉 1 D W D W 2 years ago The beginning of the end. 1 surbris surbris 2 years ago would adding the little guys to water kill them? Gerhard Hermann Gerhard Hermann 2 years ago Karen Lloyd, always a top 10 TED event. Hi Hi 2 years ago Shoots steamy liquid, protrudes off the surface, has a seduction zone. What are we talking about again? 5 Shariar Rahman Shariar Rahman 2 years ago Fantastic Joseph Abbate Joseph Abbate 2 years ago Damn that's actually tea 2 darcide caesaria darcide caesaria 2 years ago I love her! Steven Steven 2 years ago Who knew?? So Cool! Rosa Antonucci Rosa Antonucci 2 years ago Thank You demlottboyz demlottboyz 2 years ago 5:43 "but in the subsurface, it's free real estate " 2 Ghughu Maal Ghughu Maal 2 years ago How does yeast work under 5km? Joe Tomlin Joe Tomlin 2 years ago ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ D. Marlene Segura D. Marlene Segura 1 year ago thank you EK Lim EK Lim 2 years ago thanks for the geobiochemlecture 2 yourmanwatson yourmanwatson 2 years ago So thaaaat's how the zombie apocalypse begins. Okay.. bookmarked.. 6 Ånni A Ånni A 2 years ago Scientists are on track, but we need to fix the social mores that allowed this situation to happen in the first place. Treat the wound and the symptom.