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The mysterious microbes living deep inside the earth -- and how they could help humanity

2,104,173 views | Karen Lloyd • TED2019

The ground beneath your feet is home to a massive, mysterious world of microbes -- some of which have been in the earth's crust for hundreds of thousands of years. What's it like down there? Take a trip to the volcanoes and hot springs of Costa Rica as microbiologist Karen Lloyd shines a light on these subterranean organisms and shows how they could have a profound impact on life up here.

The ground beneath your feet is home to a massive, mysterious world of microbes -- some of which have been in the earth's crust for hundreds of thousands of years. What's it like down there? Take a trip to the volcanoes and hot springs of Costa Rica as microbiologist Karen Lloyd shines a light on these subterranean organisms and shows how they could have a profound impact on life up here.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Karen Lloyd

Marine microbiologist

See speaker profile

Karen Lloyd investigates novel types of microbes in Earth's deep surface biosphere, collecting them from remote places such as Arctic fjords, volcanoes in Costa Rica, even deep in mud near the Marianas Trench.

| Explore

Deep Carbon Observatory

Deep Carbon Observatory is a global community of more than 1,000 scientists on a ten-year quest to understand the quantities, movements, forms and origins of carbon inside earth.

Deep Carbon, 2017 | Watch

"Biology Meets Subduction"

A video from our field work in Costa Rica.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.