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Antarctic Expedition To Track Down Extreme Living Creatures
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.
Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!
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!
They've obviously never been to my toilet after I've had Mexican food and beer!
... it's just none of the expeditions sent to date ever returned.
Oh, they've tried
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.