Antarctic lake - Life found in lake Vostok

[Neil]

I've been watching news on this project for years. The idea is to drill into a lake trapped under X kilometers of ice to see if life exists there. It's believed the lake has been trapped for hundreds of thousands of years. Possibly millions!

If life exists there, then it could bodes well for similar environments on Europa or Enceladus for example.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/what-lies-beneath-antarctic-mission-to-find-life-isolated-deep-under-the-ice-8117775.html




Twelve British scientists are about to embark on a gruelling expedition to the Antarctic, sleeping and living packed together in small tents for months on end, testing their endurance of the conditions – and one another – in a quest to uncover a lost world frozen beneath the ice for hundreds of thousands of years.

Their search for microbial lifeforms will take them to the darkest depths of an Antarctic lake that has been buried under three kilometres of ice.

The British team will later this year start to drill through the thick ice sheet of West Antarctica to retrieve samples of water and mud from Lake Ellsworth, one of about 150 subglacial lakes in the frozen continent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8118177.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/19.1.jpg

[Mike70]

I've been watching news on this project for years. The idea is to drill into a lake trapped under X kilometers of ice to see if life exists there. It's believed the lake has been trapped for hundreds of thousands of years. Possibly millions!

If life exists there, then it could bodes well for similar environments on Europa or Enceladus for example.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/what-lies-beneath-antarctic-mission-to-find-life-isolated-deep-under-the-ice-8117775.html



http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8118177.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/19.1.jpg

The russians are also involved in a similar experiment at Lake Vostok, which lies under about 4,000 meters of ice. i'm gonna link the wiki page. you can follow up on it at your leisure. all the relevant articles are linked from there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok

[Neil]

The russians are also involved in a similar experiment at Lake Vostok, which lies under about 4,000 meters of ice. i'm gonna link the wiki page. you can follow up on it at your leisure. all the relevant articles are linked from there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_VostokI didn't think that one was self contained, but the wiki article (from a quick glance) implies it is!?

[Mike70]

I didn't think that one was self contained, but the wiki article (from a quick glance) implies it is!?

I really don't think anyone knows that yet. certainly the russians believe that it is self contained but only time and some exploration will settle that question.

who knows what could lie under all those kms of ice on antarctica?

[AcesandEights]

Antarctic lake - What lies beneath

A shoggoth, obviously!

I know we shouldn't stop searching and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge, but I do always get nervous about age old pathogens being uncovered in this way. But you guys would probably be more knowledgeable about the feasibility of an ancient bacterium or virus being unearthed that humans would be susceptible to.

Am I off in this line of reasoning?

[Mike70]

A shoggoth, obviously!

I know we shouldn't stop searching and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge, but I do always get nervous about age old pathogens being uncovered in this way. But you guys would probably be more knowledgeable about the feasibility of an ancient bacterium or virus being unearthed that humans would be susceptible to.

Am I off in this line of reasoning?

no. that is a serious consideration when something like this is undertaken. but remember of all the known forms of microbial/viral life, only a small amount of them have the ability to make humans ill. it isn't something to lightly dismiss but not something to fret over. the vast majority of those have either co-evolved along with humans (like tuberculosis and the flu) or cross over from animals when a mutation occurs.

even strains of the species of bacteria are different. take E. Coli for example, we are all colonized by one form of the bacteria that help us digest food but other strains can kill you.

[MoonSylver]

A shoggoth, obviously!

Thought had occurred to me that this would make a great HPL story, but sadly it'll probably be fuel for another ScyFi/Asylum "film" instead... :( ;)

[Mike70]

Thought had occurred to me that this would make a great HPL story, but sadly it'll probably be fuel for another ScyFi/Asylum "film" instead... :( ;)

jeez...how many frozen in the ice prehistoric monster movies have they done already? guess one more wouldn't hurt...unless it is your eyesight you are worried about. some of those flicks are such calamitous pieces of crap they are actually entertaining in weird kind of way.

I can see "OctoShoggoth vs. CrocaCthulu" in the near future.

[Neil]

Nice little update! It's all kicking off now - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20695592

[aaron2]

I haven't heard about it and if the life exist there then it will take years so establish a life there

[Purge]

"You guys think I'M crazy! Well, that's fine! Most of you don't know what's going on around here, but I'm damn well sure SOME of you do! You think that thing wanted to be an animal? No dogs make it a thousand miles through the cold! No, you don't understand! That thing wanted to be US!"

[Neil]

"You guys think I'M crazy! Well, that's fine! Most of you don't know what's going on around here, but I'm damn well sure SOME of you do! You think that thing wanted to be an animal? No dogs make it a thousand miles through the cold! No, you don't understand! That thing wanted to be US!"

Huh??

[MoonSylver]

"You guys think I'M crazy! Well, that's fine! Most of you don't know what's going on around here, but I'm damn well sure SOME of you do! You think that thing wanted to be an animal? No dogs make it a thousand miles through the cold! No, you don't understand! That thing wanted to be US!"

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G5yROhupmdc/TfkXfSF7-dI/AAAAAAAAAIM/k2bvww88FY4/s1600/Thing+5.gif

Wilfred Brimley approves of this post.


Huh??

*Tsk* And you call yourself a horror fan. Good thing this is your forum. http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww78/Smileys4me2u/S2/HeadShake.gif :lol:

[Neil]

Mission called off :(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20850360

[Neil]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21709225


Russian scientists have claimed the discovery of a new type of bacterial life in water from a buried Antarctic lake.

The researchers have been studying samples brought up from Vostok - the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica.

Last year, the team drilled through almost 4km (2.34 miles) of ice to reach the lake and retrieve samples.

Vostok is thought to have been cut off from the surface for millions of years.

Right! Lesson learned... now let's get a bot to Europa!!

[Legion2213]

It's all very X-Files/Black Oil isn't it. :)

[Neil]

Mariana Trench: Deepest ocean 'teems with microbes' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21806406

We need to get to Europa!

[Kaos]

It looks like they have lost contact with the science team:

www.sciencedaily.com/2342/323.html (http://tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp)

[Neil]

^^ Oh the humanity! Why do that!

[Legion2213]

It looks like they have lost contact with the science team:

www.sciencedaily.com/2342/323.html (http://tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp)

Thats just sick! Hang your head in shame young man!

[AcesandEights]

It looks like they have lost contact with the science team:

www.sciencedaily.com/2342/323.html (http://tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp)

Awww, Dude....I never thought you'd get me, Kaos!

[MoonSylver]

^^ Oh the humanity! Why do that!

Because he's never going to give them up? :rockbrow: :lol: