The Limits of Life

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CNN's John Sutter talks with a microbiologist at Texas A&M about drilling in the bottom of the ocean. The scientists are looking for life on other planets or moons, and they've found conditions there that might resemble those on others. They're also studying how fast climate change has changed over time to help predict future changes.

Sixty years ago, geologists tried to drill down through the Earth’s crust to pull up a piece of the Earth’s mantle. Their mission didn’t go exactly as planned. But it sowed the seeds for a new field of science that’s helped us rewrite not only the history of the planet, but, potentially, our definitions of life itself.

The documentaries featured in this episode are "The First Deep Ocean Drilling: Mohole, Phase 1" and "Project Mohole: Report No. 1."

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