Jingszo !

Too much cosmic radiation can sterilize a planet – but a surprising new study has found that under the right circumstances, it could actually make uninhabitable worlds habitable.

Here on Earth, we're protected from the worst of it all by our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere. It's usually assumed that without these kinds of defenses, life wouldn't stand a chance.

But the new study suggests that life could not only survive ionizing radiation, but depend on it. The idea is that high-energy particles from space could knock electrons out of molecules in underground water or ice, in a process called radiolysis. Hypothetically, this could produce enough energy to feed microbes even in cold, dark environments.