Acidophilic fungi as possible candidates for living forms in the Venus clouds
Anna Olewicz, Grzegorz P. Słowik, Miroslav Kolařik · 2026
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Description
Anna Olewicz, Grzegorz P. Słowik, and Miroslav Kolařik ask whether acid-loving fungi could live in the clouds of Venus, in a 2026 paper. The planet's surface is far too harsh, but its cloud layer is milder. Some fungi cope with strong acid, heat, dry air, and radiation all at once.
The team measured how spores of three such fungi take in light across the violet and visible range. One species showed three peaks of uptake, while the other two showed one peak each. The peaks partly overlap the range soaked up by a mystery absorber in the Venus clouds, whose source is unknown. The authors say fungi like these should stay on the list of possible cloud life until probes learn more.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Anna Olewicz, Grzegorz P. Słowik, Miroslav Kolařik |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 22568 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |