(CNN) Life exists in extreme environments on Earth, from arid deserts and frozen tundras to thermal, toxic vents in the deepest reaches of the ocean floor. But it can't exist on every inch of the planet and scientists have discovered a place in Ethiopia where life can't find a way, according to a new study.

In contrast with previous research, scientists conducted multiple tests and found that there is no life, not even microorganisms, in Dallol. One of Earth's most extreme environments, Dallol is incredibly hot, salty and acidic. Its ponds extend across a volcanic crater, in the Ethiopian Danakil depression, filled with salt, toxic gases and boiling water in response to extreme hydrothermal activity.

Even in winter, daytime temperatures can exceed 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Some of the hyper acidic and saline pools have negative pH values.

The findings published Friday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution

"After analysing many more samples than in previous works, with adequate controls so as not to contaminate them and a well-calibrated methodology, we have verified that there's no microbial life in these salty, hot and hyperacid pools or in the adjacent magnesium-rich brine lakes," said Purificación López García, study author and biologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.

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