Remember, You Can Always Do Less - The Cut

For evidence, we look to the very bottom of the ocean, where some very inspirational organisms — microbial cells, to be exact — lead an unbothered existence, nestled comfortably in the sediments under the seafloor.

According to a new study, published in ScienceAdvances, these cells use an astonishingly small amount of energy; an output so small, it calls “into question the power limit to life.”.

That these intensely inactive cells exist is not news.

“The number of cells that are contained in global subseafloor sediments is equivalent to the number of cells in all of Earth’s soils, or all of Earth’s global ocean.” So how are they managing to thrive down there.