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8 Million Year Old Bacteria Thaws, Lives

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the gonna-need-more-antibiotics dept.

Jamie found a New Scientist story about 8 million year old bacteria that scientists thawed out, and now it's alive. Also somehow they are sure that this is safe. The interesting bit is that since these samples came from ancient ice, it seems that the world will naturally be filled with these guys soon.

35 of 345 comments (clear)

  1. Welcome by amigabill · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our new microscopic overlords.

    1. Re:Welcome by lonechicken · · Score: 5, Funny

      I for one welcome our new microscopic overlords. You mean "old."
    2. Re:Welcome by Rhaban · · Score: 2, Funny

      I for one welcome our very very old microscopic overlords. better that way.
    3. Re:Welcome by Trigun · · Score: 2, Funny

      New to you, or pre-owned...
      or would that be pre-pwn3d?

    4. Re:Welcome by eviloverlordx · · Score: 2, Funny

      I guess the stars were right.

      --
      'Loose' is when your pants are three sizes too big. 'Lose' is when you misuse 'loose'.
    5. Re:Welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      or would that be pre-pwn3d? No, pre-pwn3d is when someone sells you a 3 year old Windows box.
    6. Re:Welcome by shelterpaw · · Score: 2, Funny

      "old" is the new "new"

    7. Re:Welcome by bigdavesmith · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not so fast, buddy. This is how it all ends. Global warming causes the ice caps to melt, and it releases that neon-green buggy stuff that only gets active at night, like on that one x-files episode.

      I'm stocking up on flashlight batteries and fuel for the generator.

    8. Re:Welcome by xENoLocO · · Score: 4, Funny

      A dell with Windows ME on it came to my mind when I read "pre-pwn3d"

      --
      "The need to build the internet comes from something inside us, something programmed... something we can't resist."
    9. Re:Welcome by SleptThroughClass · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm stocking up on flashlight batteries and fuel for the generator.
      Good. They like to eat those.
    10. Re:Welcome by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 2, Funny

      In other news, researchers were puzzled by the discovery of a 9 million-year-old bacterium, until they realized they'd accidently sampled food from Taco Bell.

    11. Re:Welcome by f1055man · · Score: 2, Funny

      I have mod points, but I couldnt find a "-1 TMI"

    12. Re:Welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      The bit between the quotes...

  2. The next Hollywood thriller plot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Also somehow they are sure that this is safe. Just before the bacteria Attacked
  3. Let me be the first.... by martyb · · Score: 4, Funny
    I know it's been a LONG time, so let me be the first:

    Happy Birthday to you,
    Happy Birthday to You,
    Happy Birthday dear bacteria,
    Happy Birthday to You!

    (P.S. please don't tell the RIAA I sent this or there might be a fine. ;-)

  4. truly amazing by JeanBaptiste · · Score: 5, Funny

    you typed all that in under 4 minutes. (story posted at 11:01, comment posted at 11:05)

    want to document my code for me? shouldn't take you long

    1. Re:truly amazing by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      /*
      you typed all that in under 4 minutes. (story posted at 11:01, comment posted at 11:05)
      want to document my code for me? shouldn't take you long
      */
      You're right- that was fast!

    2. Re:truly amazing by eno2001 · · Score: 4, Funny

      He does what I do. You write and write and write all over the net. Sometimes as a troll, sometimes honestly, sometimes just to take the piss. Then you archive everything you write waiting for the right article to post in. But, if it would make you happy, I have a ton of documentation I've written for applications that may at some time in the future exist. If you have an app that matched, I'd be happy to send you a copy. :)

      --
      -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    3. Re:truly amazing by djupedal · · Score: 5, Funny

      Remember - subscribers can see articles in the future. What seemed like 4 minutes to your disconnected asse was actually 2 hours to his connected asse.

      Ok, everyone laugh and point at #537955 so he can complete his initiation and we can move on to the next chodderhead.

    4. Re:truly amazing by Andrewkov · · Score: 2, Funny

      Moderation is cruel. Just look at what happens to this post.

    5. Re:truly amazing by pseudorand · · Score: 3, Funny

      Considering the number of ./ articles are repeats of old ./ articles, you don't have to subscribe to see articles in the future, you just have to search the archives. :)

      Posts (probably including this one) are even easier. Just scroll up.

    6. Re:truly amazing by Charles+W+Griswold · · Score: 4, Funny

      He does what I do. You write and write and write all over the net. Sometimes as a troll, sometimes honestly, sometimes just to take the piss. Then you archive everything you write waiting for the right article to post in. But, if it would make you happy, I have a ton of documentation I've written for applications that may at some time in the future exist. If you have an app that matched, I'd be happy to send you a copy. :) Awesome! I have an app that automagically filters out the B.S. from political speeches. I've been over the algorithm several times and it really should work, but for some reason I never get any output. Oh, well; better luck next time, I guess.
      --
      "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber" -- Plato
  5. Lawyers? by iknownuttin · · Score: 5, Funny
    The Bacteria, named Cirroc, have said that they plan to attend law school and embark on a new career as a personal injury lawyer.

    The article said they were parasitic bacteria?

    --
    I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
  6. Re:Typical misleading summary... by DataBroker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow! Did you realize that you wrote more words (660) than were in the whole of TFA (610)?

    And you still missed the fact that the article is obviously all lies since the world simply may not contain 8 million year-old bacteria since it is 6,000 years old.

  7. Wouldn't it be great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If these microbes turn out to love eating our greenhouse gasses?

  8. No reason to worry, they can't be 8M years old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The oldest they can be is about 6,000 years, right?

  9. War of the Worlds by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Before the early 21st Century, Earth experienced a scourge of humans. Common bacteria from ancient ice stopped the humans, but it didn't destroy them. Instead they lapsed into a state of deep hibernation. Now, the humans are resurrected, more destructive than ever before. Before the early 21st Century humans had taken over the world. Now, they're taking over our colonists' bodies!

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  10. Can you say CPT Trips by pete.com · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm moving to Boulder today... I know the outcome of this story.

  11. Thingking of you ... by DrogMan · · Score: 2, Funny
    One name: John Carpenter
    One thing: Er, The Thing

    We're doomed...

  12. Re:You're right by pohl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Exactly, because no point is ever valid if it came from an asshole.

    Sorry, just joining the dogpile.

    --

    The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...

  13. Re:Typical misleading summary... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    In ancient Athens, when an inanimate object would kill someone, like in the situation you allude to, they would take the object to trial at the Prytaneion. If the object was found guilty, they would destroy or exile it.

    So, maybe the grandparent is just an ancient Athenian, so your conclusion that they should go free because of the equivalence, is mistaken. I bet you never thought of that one, not that I blame you.

  14. Not that impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    He was just the last monkey in line. The other 999,999 monkeys wrote the bulk of the comment; he just had to type in the period.

  15. No you have it backwards. by pavon · · Score: 2, Funny

    ASCAP sued the Girls Scouts for singing Happy Birthday at campfires without paying public performance royalties. The copyright is held by Summy-Birchard Music, a subsidiary of Time Warner.

  16. Right. by Bozdune · · Score: 1, Funny

    God seeded the Earth with very old fossils and so forth to test our faith (nod to Martin Gardner's "Fads and Fallacies"). Obviously this bacterium was on the Ark just like all the others.

  17. Thankfully there's an ozone hole too by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 2, Funny
    The UV will nuke these suckers!

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.