How life survives in a post-apocalypse blackout

London, August 26 (ANI): A team of scientists has examined how life can survive in a post-apocalypse blackout.

Natural catastrophes such as asteroid impacts, massive volcanic eruptions or large-scale wildfires would have periodically plunged our planet into abnormal darkness.

According to a report in New Scientist, to figure out how organisms might have endured periods of so-called "catastrophic darkness", Charles Cockell of the Open University's Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research in Milton Keynes, UK, and his team placed samples of both freshwater and marine microorganisms in darkness for six months.

The period of six months was similar to what might be expected following a catastrophic event.

The samples included phototrophs, which convert sunlight into usable energy, and mixotrophs, which can use sunlight or consume dead organic matter.

The team found that the phototrophic species struggled to survive, with the majority of individuals dying off. The few that survived in a dormant state managed to repopulate when light returned.

Mixotrophs, however, seemed to thrive in the darkness.

They even offered a helping hand to their light-dependent cousins. When the lights went out, the mixotrophs were able to switch to getting their energy from dead creatures and plants, and in doing so they kept the nutrients turning over.

This improved the conditions for phototrophic recovery when the samples were returned to light. (ANI)