1.5-million-year-old Antarctic Microbe Community Discovered

Dantheman62 · 04-16-2009, 10:41 PM

A living time capsule of sorts has been found buried under hundreds of feet of [COLOR=#000000 !important]Antarctic[COLOR=#000000 !important] ice[/COLOR][/COLOR] - a colony of microbes that have been sealed off from the rest of the world for more than 1.5 million years.

The finding, detailed in the April 17 issue of the journal Science, could serve as a model for how life might survive on icy planets elsewhere in the galaxy.

The microbes, which live without light or oxygen, were detected in meltwater flowing out from Taylor Glacier, one of the outlet glaciers of the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the otherwise ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys.

The Dry Valleys are considered one of Earth's most extreme deserts, devoid of animals and complex plants.

Scientists took water samples from Blood Falls, a curious blood-red waterfall-like feature that sporadically flows from the edge of Taylor Glacier.

Analyses revealed that the glacier water held microorganisms that use sulfur compounds to extract iron in the bedrock below the glacier (this iron also accounts for the rusty hue of the water).

"When I started running the chemical analysis on [the samples], there was no oxygen. That was when this got really interesting, it was a real 'eureka' moment," said researcher Jill Mikucki, who conducted the research, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, while a graduate student at Montana State University and a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. She currently works at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

"It's a bit like finding a forest that nobody has seen for 1.5 million years," said study team member Ann Pearson of Harvard. "Intriguingly, the species living there are similar to contemporary organisms, and yet quite different - a result, no doubt, of having lived in such an inhospitable environment for so long."

AP – This undated handout photo provided by the journal Science shows Iron oxides stain the snout of the Taylor …

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...nitydiscovered

Egg · 04-17-2009, 12:30 AM

The potential for some **** to develop a new bio war weapon from this is almost unlimited. The mind boggles if they start playing around with 1.5 million years old untouched organisms.

Dantheman62 · 04-17-2009, 03:58 AM

Wait until they drill into Lake Vostok 13,000 feet under the ice in Antarctica!
I think they'll find some very interesting things. They have come close but won't break through until they figure out a way to do it without contaminating it.
They are putting together now some sterile robot/cameras so they can procede further.

Lake Vostok is one of around 140 lakes under Antarctica, not to mention all the rivers.

04-16-2009, 10:41 PM	#1
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	1.5-million-year-old Antarctic Microbe Community Discovered A living time capsule of sorts has been found buried under hundreds of feet of [COLOR=#000000 !important]Antarctic[COLOR=#000000 !important] ice[/COLOR][/COLOR] - a colony of microbes that have been sealed off from the rest of the world for more than 1.5 million years. The finding, detailed in the April 17 issue of the journal Science, could serve as a model for how life might survive on icy planets elsewhere in the galaxy. The microbes, which live without light or oxygen, were detected in meltwater flowing out from Taylor Glacier, one of the outlet glaciers of the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the otherwise ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys. The Dry Valleys are considered one of Earth's most extreme deserts, devoid of animals and complex plants. Scientists took water samples from Blood Falls, a curious blood-red waterfall-like feature that sporadically flows from the edge of Taylor Glacier. Analyses revealed that the glacier water held microorganisms that use sulfur compounds to extract iron in the bedrock below the glacier (this iron also accounts for the rusty hue of the water). "When I started running the chemical analysis on [the samples], there was no oxygen. That was when this got really interesting, it was a real 'eureka' moment," said researcher Jill Mikucki, who conducted the research, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, while a graduate student at Montana State University and a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. She currently works at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. "It's a bit like finding a forest that nobody has seen for 1.5 million years," said study team member Ann Pearson of Harvard. "Intriguingly, the species living there are similar to contemporary organisms, and yet quite different - a result, no doubt, of having lived in such an inhospitable environment for so long." AP – This undated handout photo provided by the journal Science shows Iron oxides stain the snout of the Taylor … http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...nitydiscovered

04-17-2009, 12:30 AM	#2
Egg Banned Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 727	Re: 1.5-million-year-old Antarctic Microbe Community Discovered The potential for some **** to develop a new bio war weapon from this is almost unlimited. The mind boggles if they start playing around with 1.5 million years old untouched organisms.

04-17-2009, 03:58 AM	#3
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	Re: 1.5-million-year-old Antarctic Microbe Community Discovered Wait until they drill into Lake Vostok 13,000 feet under the ice in Antarctica! I think they'll find some very interesting things. They have come close but won't break through until they figure out a way to do it without contaminating it. They are putting together now some sterile robot/cameras so they can procede further. Lake Vostok is one of around 140 lakes under Antarctica, not to mention all the rivers.