3000-year-old Microbes

marga writes "Science Daily is running a story about a group of researchers the have been drilling into the Antarctic ice and discovered 3000-year-old microbes that could come back to life if put in contact with liquid water. And not only that, they claim that they have uncovered a whole new ecological system lying beneath the Lake Vida."

Comments

Worried

[dar]

I know I worry too much, but this makes me think of the Andromeda Strain.

Re:Worried

[Dannon]

Nah, this is more like Gremlins. Three rules:

1. Don't get them wet,
2. Don't expose them to sunlight, and
3. Don't ever let them eat after midnight!
   

Re:Worried

[Simon Field]

Some bacteria that have evolved to live in very salty water at -10 Celsius are unlikely to do much harm to a human.

On the other hand, the anti-freeze molecules they make might be quite beneficial. Something like that might make cryogenic suspended animation possible, or just better ice cream.

Re:Worried

[Anik315]

Epidemic viral agents/bacteria aren't going to come from some exotic place since they have to be tailor made for our immune system.

Our immune system has been evolving for hundreds of millions years, and it will attack everything that doesn't have the right 'password'. The only way pathogens can get those 'passwords' is just through enormous amounts of random mutation.

The rather prosiac solution is to stop using antibiotics irresponsibly because that just allows the stronger strains to proliferate.

Europa

[danratherfan]

It makes the prospects for life on Europa just that much more promising. We're finding life can exist in such extreme conditions. It's time we sent a probe to drill beneath the ice there.

Tune Back to the Late Late Show, kiddies

[0x69]

Let's see... How many umpteen-thousand-year-old woolly mammoths have been dug out of Siberian ice? How many slow-moving glaciers are drooling ancient bits of organic crud all the time? How many deep old aquifers have been drilled & pumped by water-hungry people?

How many times have ancient supergerms from these Not-Meant-To-Be-Touched-By-Man sources nearly wiped humanity from the face of the Earth?

There's really no need to fear for the future, folks. Our handsome hero, his beautiful babe, and their nerdy sidekick will save the world before bedtime.

We'll return to tonight's feature - "Purple Doom From The Ice Continent" - after a quick message from our sponsors...

Re:"contaminate"

[Eagle7]

I think he meant alien in the traditional sense, i.e. "from outside the enclosed ecosystem", not "extraterrestrial." In other words, did the scientists unwittingly just go and open up a lake that's been sealed for 3000 years and contaminate it before it could even be studied? Did thier drills leak anything into said lake, affecting it's chemistry? etc.

Bah! That's nothing.

[Royster]

There were some yeast spores dating back 25-40 million years which were claimed to have been revived. Google's cached copy of the Time Magazine article from 1995

They used it to brew beer!

Now there's Procress Through Science!

Re:"contaminate"

[jnana]

They didn't actually drill far enough down to enter the water. They went to within three meters of the bottom of the ice. They found what they did in this ice, and are preparing to go back and actually drill through the ice, when they have equipment that can prevent contamination. The Nature article is much better than this Science Daily.