Scientists Found Strange Tunnels in Rocks That May Point to Unknown Ancient Life

Some discoveries are dramatic because something huge is found. Others are unsettling because something tiny leaves behind a pattern that should not exist. In this case, the mystery begins inside desert marble and limestone, where researchers found microscopic tunnels that appear to have been carved by a living organism.

The discovery does not reveal a monster, a fossilized animal, or a visible creature trapped in stone. It points instead to an unidentified ancient microbe, or colony of microbes, that may have lived inside rocks millions of years ago, leaving behind structures scientists say cannot be explained by ordinary weathering or non-living chemical processes.