NASA finds all of this very interesting. The agency awarded Dr. Dan Shain, an evolutionary biologist at Rutgers University who researches the survival of the ice worm in extreme conditions, more than $200,000 toward his research. Ultimately, his findings could offer clues as to how life can exist in extreme environments, maybe unlocking mysteries about possible life on other planets or chilly moons.

"If we're interested in looking for life on ice-enshrouded worlds, then understanding how life on Earth has evolved and adapted to living under those conditions is an important thing for NASA to know," Michael New, an astrobiology scientist at NASA, told NPR. "We try to understand the distribution and extent of life on the Earth in order to inform our ability to look for life elsewhere."

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/its-happening-ice-worms-emerge-in-pacific-northwest-glaciers/988820

So if we have NASA
NASA with rockets and ice worms
NASA with going to cold planets with worms
NASA - rocket-cold planet- MARS- worms- tera-forming

NASA is thinking big about tera-forming MARS with life. Life that can live on a very hostile planet such as mars where life produces gasses as it lives and breaks down biological matter. NASA if we look into it is probably studying life such as lichens that live in Antarctica or the north pole. These gasses are going to produce - an atmosphere. Such as oxygen which we breath (eventually).

Elon Musk with "His rockets" is saying he wants to get to Mars fast. Reintroducing life there into the soil is going to be a goal. After all what was one of our original ancestors -- it was a worm

Here is our great great ----GREAT ancestors ! THE WORM

Barbara Gale Spencer of this post line is on to something !

Seemingly simple and small things can and have been the start of very big ideas. The lowly worm seems to be one of these things. If NASA is interested in worms then it is big.

NASA considered terraforming important enough to conduct a study on it in 1976, and terraforming articles still appear in peer-reviewed science journals. In fact, one of the principal planetary scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center – Dr. Christopher McKay – is one of the world’s foremost experts on terraforming. ( from - https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/our-destiny-in-the-stars-the-reality-behind-terraforming/)

Here is a video showing the idea of terraforming mars is a big idea being studied. If NASA is studying worms it isnt from growing tomatoes on earth. And with advanced genetics which we hear about a lot in other areas the low oxygen worm is an idea im sure NASA knows about.

Earth worms need oxygen to " breath" so does that cut Ice worms out of the picture ? No

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/science/03obhypoxia.html -- in this report a discovery of a genetic change in a worms DNA allows for existence at low levels of O2.

here is a report on ice worms of another variety found under the water where methane Hydrate has condensed - this material is facinating in itself to check out. Any hoo these worms seem to be operating at first glance without oxygen. What does Mars lack ? Oxygen. Worms- NASA- Genetics- worms that need little oxygen to worms that live with no oxygen to ice worms in the arctic . You know these guys are onto this idea and probably have got a super worm complete with a little cape and a SW on it (super worm). Got to !

SHORT COMMUNICATION
Published: April 2000

Methane Ice Worms: Hesiocaeca methanicola Colonizing Fossil Fuel Reserves

C. R. Fisher, I. R. MacDonald, R. Sassen, C. M. Young, S. A. Macko, S. Hourdez, R. S. Carney, S. Joye & E. McMullin

Naturwissenschaften volume 87, pages 184–187 (2000)Cite this article

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Abstract

 During a research cruise in July 1997 in the Gulf of Mexico we discovered a gas hydrate approximately 1 m thick and over 2 m in diameter which had recently breached the sea floor at a depth of 540 m.

The hydrate surface visible from the submarine was considerably greater than that of any other reported hydrate. Two distinct color bands of hydrate were present in the same mound, and the entire exposed surface of the hydrate was infested (2500 individuals/m2) with 2 to 4 cm-long worms, since described as a new species, Hesiocaeca methanicola, in the polychaete family Hesionidae (Desbruyères and Toulmond 1998). H. methanicola tissue stable isotope values are consistent with a chemoautotrophic food source.

No evidence of chemoautotrophic symbionts was detected, but geochemical data support the presence of abundant free living bacteria on the hydrate. The activities of the polychaetes, grazing on the hydrate bacteria and supplying oxygen to their habitats, appears to contribute to the dissolution of hydrates in surface sediments.

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Barbara Gale Spencer-- is on to something !

SO IT APPEARS I MAY BE OUT TO LUNCH ON WORMS AND OXYGEN ! THEY NEED OXYGEN THOUGH IN SMALL AMOUNTS !

BUT GUESS WHAT ?

>>>>>>NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Unexplained Oxygen on Mars

Fluctuating levels of the atmospheric gas, a potential tracer of alien life, have left researchers mystified<<<<<<<<<<

If you are a young person interested in anything scientific and or biological -- where you liked chemistry, biology class then I think there is a future for you in this area.

Also I have just seen NASA is looking for people willing to live on Mars for one year.

Ok definite prediction here -- there is going to be Universities offering courses on terraforming planets. It will concentrate on rehabilitating the Sahara and the destroyed Amazon jungle which is disappearing at an amazing rate.

And it will also discuss subjects like Terraforming Mars because with Elon Musk and his rockets and all this gene altering stuff--- they are going to need people who can gene alter bugs and plants to live on mars to alter it for humans to live on.

Think about it. You will take an Elon Musk shuttle to Mars (actually there are secret worm hole locations controlled by the military that will take you there).

But anyway lets play the game. You take a rocket to mars where you as a grad student you will grow and test special plants on mars to help with terraforming mars. Pretty cool summer job !!

Think outside the box. For sure there is a future career in this area ! Also Paul Stimets is mentioned.

Watch Paul Stimets talk at a symposium and you will be very amazed if this kind of thing has any interest for you. This guy is on the cutting edge of more than mushrooms.

Mars apparently has a lot of heavy metals in the soil. Here are plants that remove heavy metals.

The soil of mars needs to eventually broken up. Worms do this. Living in a city I and probably don't realize that all these bugs , worms , and mushrooms are allowing us to grow food and live. Without them we would all die from lack of food.

Here is slime mould that is said to be intelligent. It can live in difficult environments.

IT CAN SOLVE MAZES !

And it can remember things !

OH yes it has been taken into space to be studied.

NASA is taking this into space now ! Its 1 astronaut, 1 box of ice worms and 1 box of slime mould on NASA 'S list -and soon off to MARS- I would say.

One last point - unrelated-- OR IS IT ?-- in Project Camelot there was a very brief comment made by one of the interviewees who said something like-- "yes we found out about that when we discovered one of them in the white house. He was followed in by the security team and when they went into the room there was no one there". But he had disassembled into a flat form and was flat under the rug in the room"

This was referring to the ability of some life forms that seem to be able to morph into almost anything they want. At first it was a man and then became a thin life form under the rug as it hid there.

I am wondering if NASA is studying a life form that seems to be able to morph then reassemble into a different form - IE this slime mould. And if you listen closely to the poster here you hear him say NASA was wondering if this slime mould might make it self into a 3 dimensional life form. I think this has crossed their minds.

Also is there a link from this stuff to Black Goo which is said to be some sort of sentient black oil like substance ? Just a thought ! Black Goo ? A link to someone talking about black goo is here ------ >>>

Here's something that can live in extreme environments. Apparently an Israeli satellite caring tardigrades crashed landed on the moon. So they are being studied by those going out into space. Its going to mars too I'd say.

There was a lot of talk about radiating food to give it very long shelf life. It was tried and when they opened cans of meat - this critter was inside having a party. Not sure if radiating food is still on or not but......

it has been dubbed " Conan the Bacterium " or its ability of surviving so much radiation. Mars has large amounts of radiation hitting the planet. If you listen -- by half way through you hear another bug they are cross breeding to survive by crossing "Conan the Bacterium" with other bugs > so terraforming Mars and other places probably are on NASA's collective minds. Think these types of things will be more important to get to mars before any real colonization of hostile planets.

Now for those who might like to think about it further-- what does an astronaut experience on long voyages to anywhere in space ?? Huge amounts of radiation-- very bad because of cell damage.

What is reported about some of the space travellers ? Some seem to be biological robots that seem to be able to survive for a long time in space and hostile environments.

So for sure NASA will not stop genetically engineering ONLY bugs but soon it will be higher forms of life. You will hear eventually a mouse will be able to survive high amounts of radiation etc etc ..

Interesting but I will stop posting now on this subject !