Karen Lloyd

Karen Lloyd

@karenlloyd.bsky.social

Subsurface microbiologist/biogeochemist, runner, laugher, wife, parent, TED speaker, Wrigley Prof. at U. Southern California, she/her, got a book coming out in May 2025 called INTRAterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth

2,744 Followers 221 Following 83 Posts Joined Aug 2023
1 month ago

I can't wait to talk about how cool life is deep beneath our feet! Join us for this fun discussion with Laurie Barge (NASA/JPL) and me!

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1 month ago

I can't wait to talk about how cool life is deep beneath our feet! Join us for this fun discussion with Laurie Barge (NASA/JPL) and me!

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1 month ago
Preview
Extremophiles Karen G. Lloyd’s Intraterrestrials explores our planet’s “subsurface biosphere”: any environment below the ground or seabed untouched by sunlight, yet

I just saw the loveliest new review of my book at the Times Literary Supplement! She liked everything about the book but the crabs. I'll take it. www.the-tls.com/regular-feat...

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1 month ago

I love that title, and this was so much fun to write!

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2 months ago
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2 months ago
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Sara Augugliaro worked with me for her beautiful article about time for The Art of Wine. And she kindly translated it from Italian into English! 1/2

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2 months ago
Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth by Karen G. Lloyd Karen G. Lloyd

Join us in congratulating @karenlloyd.bsky.social, whose book Intraterrestrials has been longlisted for the 2026 @penamerica.bsky.social/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award! The winner will be announced in March 2026.

Explore her outstanding work here: hubs.ly/Q03YLJl10

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2 months ago

They're so beautiful!!!!!

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2 months ago
JGI IMG Integrated Microbial Genomes & Microbiomes Integrated Microbial Genomes and Microbiomes. Bridging the Gap from Sequence to Biology

Absolutely! The best way to view these genomes is to get a free account at img.jgi.doe.gov, and search for them. Any genome from tens of meters deep into marine sediments would most likely be something capable of ultra-slow growth, although slow-growers certainly exist in other environments as well.

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2 months ago

Yes (what @stcmicrobeblog.bsky.social said)! Genomes are the main way we study them, since this is a lot more accessible than culturing them. Although they are starting to be cultured too!

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2 months ago

Me, freaking, too!!!!!

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2 months ago
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Announcing the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists PEN America is honored to announce the Longlists for the 2026 Literary Awards, which will confer nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.

My book Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth was long-listed for the PEN E.O. Wilson Award! I've been inspired by E.O. Wilson's science writing since I was a kid, so this is a huge honor!

pen.org/announcing-t...

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2 months ago

My article on aeonophiles (ultra-long lived organisms) came out in Aeon Magazine today!

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2 months ago

Hey cool! If you want to know some amazing stuff about life on Earth (technically, INSIDE Earth, but I think it still counts), you might enjoy reading my book.

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2 months ago
5 PUP books: Leonardo da Vinci; Shark; Intraterrestrials; How to Have Willpower; How to Make a Home; Wall Street Journal Holiday Gift Books

We're thrilled to see five of our books featured in @wsj.com's Holiday Gift Guide this holiday season! 🎉🎁

Learn more about each of these beautiful books: press.princeton.edu/books?search...

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5 months ago
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Oct 4: Life at the limits, and more... | CBC Radio On this week's episode: remembering Jane Goodall, seeing colours in our brains, new evidence of life on Mars and intraterrestrial life at the limits

ICYMI: @karenlloyd.bsky.social appeared on CBC Quirks and Quarks this weekend, discussing Intraterrestrials and some of her amazing adventures across the globe. Check it out:

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6 months ago

Nicely spotted! I hope you enjoy Intraterrestrials!

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6 months ago
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How does lava sound when it comes to the surface of the Earth? Listen to a lava flow oozing out of its effusive vent high on the southwestern side of #Etna, 28 August 2025. That day no visits by tourists were allowed on the site, which permitted this (relatively) clean recording

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6 months ago
Malibu Library Speaker Series | Malibu, CA - Official Website Find out more about the schedule and exciting presenters in the Malibu Library Speaker Series.

If you find yourself in the Malibu area this Wednesday (9/3), feel free to join me for an evening of talking about the strangest Intraterrestrials on Earth! The event is free, but an RSVP is requested. www.malibucity.org/722/Malibu-L...

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6 months ago
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Jones: I want to bring theology into this because you have all these people that want to give thoughts and prayers. But I was a minister, and that is a form of theological malpractice—when you pray for something you have the power to change.

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6 months ago
YouTube
The Core - Trailer YouTube video by Paramount Movies

I hope you enjoy it! I didn't pull any punches with the science, but I tried to make it fun. Maybe after you re-read all those books, you can watch The Core! www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVko...

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6 months ago
We are unlocking how frozen microbes stay alive for 100,000 years Microbes found buried deep in Siberian permafrost may be able to survive over extremely long timescales using protein repair genes

Asgard archaea frozen in Siberia appear to have remained alive for more than 100,000 years based on DNA analysis. Genetic overlap with other Asgards suggests astonishingly long lifespans could be common trait among the closest living relatives of all eukaryotes. Per @karenlloyd.bsky.social etal.🧪

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6 months ago

Good question! There's just an insert of color photos of field work. As long as you can conjure images of a researcher bouncing down a volcanic scree pile, and doing a "happy dance" next to a drill and snowmobiles (we had a HARD time reaching permafrost), you can understand the book without them. :)

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6 months ago
Preview
Intraterrestrials A biologist’s firsthand account of the hunt for life beneath earth’s surface—and how new discoveries are challenging our most basic assumptions about the nature of life on Earth

If you want, you can read MY book about it! It's called Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth. (But I agree, it would be FIRE if @carlzimmer.com put his own spin on the subject!) press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

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6 months ago

Oops, thanks!

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6 months ago

Photos by the wonderful brighteye@bsky.social!

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6 months ago

Sidebar: When I'm staring wistfully into the distance in these photos, what I was really doing was watching a great blue heron galumph around, awkwardly perching on things that were too small for it. That bird should hire itself out for future photo shoots.

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6 months ago
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The Pursuit of Life Where It Seems Unimaginable | Quanta Magazine A decade ago, Karen Lloyd discovered single-celled microbes living beneath the seafloor. Now she studies how they can survive in Earth’s crust, possibly for hundreds or thousands of years, and push li...

Great new article about the cool stuff we're finding (improbably) alive deep inside Earth's crust! Nice work, @laurapoppick.bsky.social at @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/the-pursuit-...

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7 months ago
Preview
International Seabed Authority to investigate The Metals Company - Oceanographic The landmark decision has been earmarked as a critical step in protecting the deep sea - recognised as the common heritage of humankind.

International Seabed Authority to investigate The Metals Company

oceanographicmagazine.com/news/interna...

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7 months ago

Love this!

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