Amazing Caves

The human population has only discovered about ten percent of all the fungi in the world; in the soil in the earth's crust there are micro organisms everywhere. So far, no matter how deep into the earths crust a human has gotten signs of life have still been present. Dr. Mallory, a scientist and spelunker, explores the Lechuguilla cave. This cave has one entrance and is over one hundred miles long. After entering the cave there are three major pits to climb down, each leading to a different part of the cave: Great White Way (three hundred feet), The Little White Bastard (three hundred feet), and Apricot pit (four hundred fifty feet).

One of the major rewards of the Lechuguilla cave is that it hosts many geological phenomena. Gypsum Crystal and cave pearls are types of minerals that dwell in Lechuguilla. Boulder Falls also is a strange sight in the geological world, for so many loose rocks is unusual. Although, there are many exciting things to be seen, Dr. Mallory explained the conditions in the caves to be uncomfortable, dark, humid, and smelly. Because bacteria need energy its eats any organic compounds that it could find so mold could be growing everywhere. Aside from how uncomfortable life is down in a cave, there are also constant dangers. If one forgets to monitor equipment like a harness closely than that person will end up with "bad luck" as Dr. Mallory puts it.

Even so, all the trouble seems to be worth it in the end based on how much information is learned every trip Dr. Mallory takes down Lechuguilla. Because the carbon source underground can't be obtained with the help of the sun, fungi underground collect carbon from limestone. The corrosion residue in Lechuguilla exists because bacteria eat through the compounds along the walls such as iron and manganese oxide for energy. Many of the microorganisms don't need much energy, for they, living in caves, have little requirements to support themselves. These organisms are unique in that they put out compounds that potentially support disease cures. Most everything that has potential of being a cure for a disease like cancer is being tested right now. The only reason that these drugs are out of circulation is that they are still being tested. The testing process is slow, for the medicine has to be checked for every side effect and every restriction on taking them before they can even be tested on people. As soon as there is proof in data that this drug works it will be released into market. Just with knowledge of caves an ordinary spelunker can discover extraordinary cures imbedded among the fungi that lives underground. In total caves are important in geology but in microbiology as well. In the Future, many cave discoveries will lead to cures that save people every day.