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Antarctic Expedition To Track Down Extreme Living Creatures

Posted by Soulskill on from the don't-forget-your-swimsuit dept.

WirePosted tips us to a story about a group of scientists who are heading to Antarctica to study organisms that thrive in climates too extreme for most other life forms. The team will be visiting a lake that has a pH "like strong Clorox," the sediments of which "produce more methane than any other natural body of water on our planet." The scientists hope to learn about the potential for life in other unforgiving climates, such as those on Mars or the various ice-covered moons in the Solar System. Expedition leader Richard Hoover was quoted saying, "This will help us decide where to search for life on other planets and how to recognize alien life if we actually find it." We've previously discussed Antarctic microbes as they related to conditions on Mars.

8 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Extreme living, eh? by the_humeister · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sounds even more fun than extreme ironing!

  2. Oh they'll find it by Nylathotep · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

  3. Mix 'em up! by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 3, Funny

    Add the Clorox to the methane producing dudes. Kill 'em off! Need to fix the gloabl warming.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  4. X-Treme Life Forms by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 4, Funny

    Spock: Captain, sensors indicate that this creature subsists on a diet of Slim Jims and Cheetos... Fascinating. It's blood is a substance you humans know as 'Mountain Dew'.

    Kirk: SPOCK! How. Can that... BE... possible?

    McCoy: If what you're describing is true, we've discovered the most extreme organism in the entire galaxy.

    Spock: Indeed, Doctor. Most intriguing.

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  5. This is asking for trouble... by Fallen+Seraph4 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Has HP Lovecraft taught us nothing?!

  6. Re:A first step to terraformation as well? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    But, I've seen it on Star Trek. The TV doesn't lie.

  7. Dupe, or repeated trip by Mark_in_Brazil · · Score: 3, Funny

    I read about this already. Either this is a dupe or they're just repeating an expedition made years ago (1931 or something).

    Here's a description of the trip from one of the members of the expedition.

    Here's a Wikipedia entry on the expedition.

    --
    "It is nice to know that the computer understands the problem. But I would like to understand it too." --Eugene Wigner
  8. Re:Producing Methane? by ScrewMaster · · Score: 5, Funny

    They've obviously never been to my toilet after I've had Mexican food and beer!

    Oh, they've tried ... it's just none of the expeditions sent to date ever returned.

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.