Antarctic Lake Vostok buried under two miles of ice found to teem with life
Source: Telegraph
A giant lake buried more than two miles beneath the Antarctic ice has been found to contain a "surprising" variety of life.
Analysis of ice cores obtained from the basin of Lake Vostok, the subglacial lake that Russian scientists drilled down to in 2012, have revealed DNA from an estimated 3,507 organisms.
While the majority were found to be bacteria, many of which were new to science, there were also other single celled organisms and multicellular organisms found, including from fungi.
The diversity of life from the lake has surprised scientists as many had thought the lake would be sterile due to the extreme conditions.
Lake Vostok was first covered by ice more than 15 million years ago and is now buried 12,000 feet beneath the surface, creating huge pressures. Few nutrients were expected to be found.
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Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/antarctica/10164193/Antarctic-Lake-Vostok-buried-under-two-miles-of-ice-found-to-teem-with-life.html
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)My immune system has been getting bored with all the known bacteria.
OneAngryDemocrat
(2,060 posts)You're next!
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)We'll need to get that shit up to escape velocity at some point here.
Baclava
(12,047 posts)uriel1972
(4,261 posts)I'd say "cool", but that would be redundant.
ninjanurse
(93 posts)Surely the Old Ones are awakened, and they have Dick Cheney on speed dial.
tclambert
(11,087 posts)Franker65
(299 posts)Now I'm eagerly awaiting any signs of bacteria on Jupiter's moons.