A rare rainstorm wakes undead microbes in Chile’s Atacama Desert

Superbloom solves mystery of what can survive in one of the driest places on Earth

Atacama Desert

STAYIN’ ALIVE  This superdry area in the Atacama Desert looks devoid of life. But after a rainstorm, scientists found living microbes in the soil.

D. Schulze-Makuch/Technische Universität Berlin

Chile’s Atacama Desert is so dry that some spots see rain only once a decade.