# breathing without oxygen on Mars



## Tales (Apr 26, 2010)

An offshoot of my topic. 

Recently i found out about this creature who can breathe without oxygen. But the question is what does it eat and what does it breathe?





ScienceShot: Animals That Live Without Oxygen - ScienceNOW


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## skeptical (Apr 26, 2010)

These animals are not well known, and their nutrition is a bit of a mystery.  However, they have a gut, and a ring of tentacles, and live in waters teeming with micro-organisms.  So what they feed on is probably rather obvious.

They do not use oxygen.  Instead, hydrogen is their feed stock, used in their biochemistry to generate energy.


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## Tales (Apr 27, 2010)

But you don't find free hydrogen in those environments huh...


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## skeptical (Apr 27, 2010)

Actually, free hydrogen is quite common, especially in the deep ocean near thermal vents.


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