First Signs of Life Found in Antarctica’s Subglacial Lakes

blogs.smithsonianmag.com...

Since the 1968 discovery of subglacial Lake Sovetskaya, scientists have known of the lakes hidden beneath Antarctica. Over the past twenty years—starting with a Russian mission into Lake Vostok—research teams have fought the harrowing conditions to push their way through the miles-thick ice into these ancient, secluded realms. The discovery of extremophile organisms living in some of the harshest conditions of Earth, from hyper-salty lakes to deep-sea hydrothermal vents, drove scientists to suspect that life could be harbored here, too, in a frigid body of water cut off from the world fo

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Now for the caveat: It's important to focus on the word preliminary here. Nothing's conclusive just yet. DNA-sensitive dye made cells in a sample glow green when placed under a microscope, but we've seen that sort of thing before: Last year, other Antarctic researchers thought they had found life, only to discover that it was actually bacteria from their own kerosene supplies. Dead cells can show up in the researchers' test, too, so to make it official, they'll have to work through more time-intensive tests, where the cells grow.

If the team does discover life, it's big news for space exploration. The reason so many teams have been clamoring to find life in Antarctica is because the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are similar environments. If we know how to find life in our backyard, we might be able to find it in outer space.


(visit the link for the full news article)

Astrobiology is a great subject and if they can pull lipids (which can immediately form membranes in water) and DNA off meteorites, then I would say that in all probability life exists down there

More importantly, I wonder when NASA are going to come clean about life on Mars?

Why does this mean we have to spend more on space exploration? Taking life back from mars could cause the destruction of life on earth if there is no resistance to it here on earth. This is risky business. Even the bacteria and microbes in that underground lake can have detrimental effects on our present Bio-system.

I was really hoping for something more dramatic. Maybe a big frozen Yeti, a crashed space ship or The Thing. Who knows maybe we will get lucky if they get a camera down there.

It is pretty neat to be able to sit on the sidelines in a nice warm house and read about their research.

reply to post by 1nquisitive


Yay we found life......um........not quite yet.......um.......But we found something!!!

At least we aren't being kept in the dark (although the proof is a blog) about all of this.....

As always, if we aren't spoon fed information, we will never know the truth....

I thought this project was stopped for the time being???

And then I thought a bunch of hippies didn't like the way they were drilling the holes and the lakes were the last of a few real "clean" places left on Earth...


Well, either way, this is awesome.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that something BIG is buried in Antarctica under all that ice?

reply to post by Heisenberg59


I've questioned to myself many time's whether they might find ancient ruins somewhere under the ice, and the only reason I even ask this question is because of the map of piri reis.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This map shows a detailed coastline of antartica before it was covered in ice. Raising the question of whether or not antartica was often travelled too in our history before columbus founded the americas.

Originally posted by 1nquisitive

If the team does discover life, it's big news for space exploration. The reason so many teams have been clamoring to find life in Antarctica is because the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are similar environments. If we know how to find life in our backyard, we might be able to find it in outer space.

(visit the link for the full news article)

We need to make more progress getting out of our solar system. So far, we have the ISS. We are too busy shooting each other up to fund space programs. I wish we could just put out a world broadcast that says "We are switching from war to space exploration. Get down or lay down." And then follow through with it.....

No immediate profits there. Prisoners dilemma....

eta: at this point we know for certain life is out there. Bacteria on moons is not the kind of life I am referring to. And Steven Hawkins is wrong btw. By the time you are smart enough to leave your solar system, you are smart enough to stop acting like a savage.

Originally posted by NarrowGate

Originally posted by 1nquisitive

If the team does discover life, it's big news for space exploration. The reason so many teams have been clamoring to find life in Antarctica is because the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are similar environments. If we know how to find life in our backyard, we might be able to find it in outer space.

(visit the link for the full news article)

We need to make more progress getting out of our solar system. So far, we have the ISS. We are too busy shooting each other up to fund space programs. I wish we could just put out a world broadcast that says "We are switching from war to space exploration. Get down or lay down." And then follow through with it.....

No immediate profits there. Prisoners dilemma....

eta: at this point we know for certain life is out there. Bacteria on moons is not the kind of life I am referring to. And Steven Hawkins is wrong btw. By the time you are smart enough to leave your solar system, you are smart enough to stop acting like a savage.

edit on 30-1-2013 by NarrowGate because: (no reason given)

Savagery is in our nature, we ain't long out of the jungle don't forget (in comparison to the age of the earth) and just because we have technology, it doesn't detract from what we are, walking mammals.

Also, the secret space program I'm sure is very well funded, extremely well funded some might say, it's just that we the sheeple will never hear about that kind of thing

I've been waiting for more news on this for ages.

I can't wait when they send down a probe or submarine in there and have a look around, especially around thoes volcanic vents. Anything could be there.

Interesting story thank you OP

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
1-16-2013

We need a verry verry strong
ICEPENETRATING radar.
That can scan and give the layouts
of antarctica.

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


Let us hope you are right.

do you really think they would tell us if they found something of any interest like an alien or a giant yeti?

And what are they looking for anyway? Have they spent fortunes and fortunes looking for bacteria?

In order to get grants for these adventures don't they need proof that something is there or can scientists justify their expense sheets by saying "err we just want to go and look, just in case like" ?

What do they know already?
What are they looking for? Oil? Gold? A new launch pad for missiles?

So what if they found a new type of fish? Then what? There's something there we're not to know about....

Originally posted by Heisenberg59
Is it just me or does anyone else think that something BIG is buried in Antarctica under all that ice?

Ummm.....yeah.......it's called a.........wait for it.....wait for it.............................Continent!

YouSir

reply to post by erebh


Old maps of the world show Antartica, as a land mass, so more than likely they are probably trying to see if anything is/has/was preserved.I would think due to the warm temps the lake supposively has, it could be some form of fish like you said. Then again, it didnt just freeze over night and form the lake that way, so it could just be the bacterial life... Or a major gold stash from an ancient civilization!!!! Idk just my mind throwing out ideas. Thanks for the info op

It's so backwards what we are doing here on earth. We probably know that live exists on other planets, because visitations has already discovered by our own governments, But denied in many ways.

So I think this is what the tasks governments are going to give the researchers to find life that developed in very harsh environments, like here in vostok closed lakes for billions of years , and mars to then combine this data with finds of habitable planets by Kepler and others,to then tell the world that the drake equation is probably well most certainly a fact..

To tell the world in the mainstream media that those advanced microbes are already flying within the boundaries of our solar system!

But that will happen years from now, when you are probably playing cards with paul laughing your a$$ off when its on the news!