[ksikka]

Disappointed - not much on why these life forms are "weird".

[gus_massa]

I agree. The article is not very clear, but IIUC they only found some bacteria and some archaea. Some of them are weird because they live in place that are very hot or because they get their energy from "weird" sources. Instead of burning something like sugar with the oxygen of the air they use other compounds. They may burn ferrous iron or sulfur. There are many possibilities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithotroph

They are very common underground. IIRC the mass of all the "weird" extremophiles is bigger that the mass of the usual life forms that we usually meet.

[andai]

They thrive in an environment devoid of organic matter!

[ams6110]

I didn't read it as if they were thriving -- more that they were locked dormant within the crystals.

[bigiain]

<looks around the office on a Monday morning, considers poor life choices and the option of lying dormant within a crystal>

Yep, sounds like "thriving" to me!