Dark oxygen found deep underground, challenging life's limits

The Mystery of Dark Oxygen

Dark oxygen found deep underground, challenging life's limits

Scientists detected oxygen in dark, deep underground environments, challenging the assumption that life-sustaining oxygen exists only near Earth's surface. The discovery, reported by James Dinneen in The New Yorker, raises questions about how oxygen forms without light and its implications for life in extreme environments.

Scientists once thought that life-sustaining oxygen existed only near Earth’s surface.

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2026-08-21