CNN Student News

    FancyEnglish           Life in the Dead Sea             百科知识

       November 14, 2011

　

(CNN Student News) -- November 14, 2011 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Studying the Dead Sea Life in the Dead Sea AZUZ: That`s not the Dead Sea`s only claim to fame. It`s also one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. And the salt and other minerals make it hard for anything to live there. And we said hard, but not impossible, and the scientists that Kevin Flower is reporting on hope that what they`ve found beneath the waves of the Dead Sea could have a big impact up on land. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN FLOWER, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): On the rocky shores of this large body of water, biologists prepare themselves for a dive in an ongoing research expedition. They tread into the still waters, and carefully make the plunge into the world below. At first glance, it looks your standard underwater dive, but look closer, and you`ll see what`s missing. There are no fish and there are no plants here, and nor will there ever be any, for this is the Dead Sea, the saltiest body of water on the planet. So, you ask, what are these marine biologists doing here? They are here making what they say is the first of its kind scientific diving expedition to study fresh and salt water springs at the bottom of the Dead Sea, where new forms of life have recently been discovered, a find that may have significant implications for medical research. DR. DANNY IONESCU, MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE: We`ve found a large diversity of bacteria, of microorganisms, several types of algae and none of these organisms have been described previously from the Dead Sea. And that`s fascinating, and most of them, to the best of our knowledge, at the moment that we did preliminary data at hand are not known to science in general. FLOWER (voice-over): Thirty meters below the surface, the researchers collect samples of sediment, which they measure back on land. They hope to learn more about the chemical composition of the spring that allows for the microorganisms to live in such extreme environments. From the depths of the Dead Sea springs life that one day may help save lives back on land -- Kevin Flower, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEO CLIP)