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Ancient Ecosystem Found In Ice Pocket

Posted by timothy on from the so-it's-not-a-traditional-honeymoon-suite dept.

ApharmdB writes "Beneath a glacier in Antarctica, scientists have discovered a community of microbes growing in frigid pools of salty water. It's a particularly tough environment, with no light, no oxygen, and extremely cold temperatures. But the microbes appear to live — and thrive — off a combination of iron and sulfur, according to a new study. The result of that strange metabolism is a brilliant red streak of cascading ice called Blood Falls."

39 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Similarity by Verteiron · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A red streak, huh? Looking at the picture, it's sort of a orange-red rust color. A rust-colored streak in the middle of a bunch of ice. What does it remind me of? Ah, yes.

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    End of lesson. You may press the button.
    1. Re:Similarity by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      I suppose we'd better tell any boats in the area to avoid landing there, eh?

    2. Re:Similarity by b0ttle · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of Mars.

    3. Re:Similarity by orkysoft · · Score: 1

      Why does it remind you of a false color image?

      --

      I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
    4. Re:Similarity by blincoln · · Score: 1

      A rust-colored streak in the middle of a bunch of ice. What does it remind me of? Ah, yes [nasa.gov].

      That is really interesting. It's obviously not as good as a true spectrograph, but it would be worth comparing the false-colour images NASA has on that same page with similar ones taken of rust (or ideally the Blood Falls) here on Earth to see if they match up. I can do that myself, minus the Blood Falls part (unless someone wants to pony up for a ticket). Maybe this weekend?

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    5. Re:Similarity by Verteiron · · Score: 1

      Because, if you actually read the linked page, you'll see that the rust-colored streaks show up even on accurate color images. The false-color ones are clearly marked as such.

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      End of lesson. You may press the button.
  2. is this how the zombie apocalypse starts? by DragonTHC · · Score: 1

    with an organism from an ice pocket?

    The red death is coming.

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    They're using their grammar skills there.
    1. Re:is this how the zombie apocalypse starts? by nametaken · · Score: 1

      Sorry, even here that joke is too old.

  3. Missing option by codeButcher · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ancient Ecosystem Found...

    from the so-it's-not-a-traditional-honeymoon-suite dept.

    ... discovered a community of microbes ... It's a particularly tough environment, with no light, no oxygen, and extremely cold temperatures. But the microbes appear to live -- and thrive -- off a combination of iron and sulfur, according to a new study.

    Pray tell, have they thought about looking in CowboyNeal's belly button yet?

    --
    Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
  4. Can this be replicated for classroom use? by davidwr · · Score: 1

    How easy would it be to grow these microbes in a lab?

    I'm thinking zoos or classrooms would be good places for them.

    "Now children, who wants to feed the iron eating microbes?"

    Before any of this can happen I'd want a safety study. If these living creatures are harmful to plants, animals, or the other living creatures we depend on, then it's probably a no-go.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:Can this be replicated for classroom use? by oneirophrenos · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If these living creatures are harmful to plants, animals, or the other living creatures we depend on, then it's probably a no-go.

      This is extremely unlikely. For a microbe to be able to live within another organism, it would have to have gone through generations and generations of mutation-driven evolution so that it would not be instantly killed by its host's immune system.

    2. Re:Can this be replicated for classroom use? by CorporateSuit · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is extremely unlikely. For a microbe to be able to live within another organism, it would have to have gone through generations and generations of mutation-driven evolution so that it would not be instantly killed by its host's immune system.

      Things have changed. Now all they need is a good lawyer and they press charges against the immune system. The immune system is issued a cease and desist, and the microbes receive special protection under the state constitution against any further incursion from the immune system onto the microbes' new home.

      --
      I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
  5. Looks more like... by Cornwallis · · Score: 4, Funny

    After looking at the picture I imagine they are calling it Blood Falls because Diarrhea Falls wouldn't be quite so compelling.

  6. My discovery by tttonyyy · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's nothing. I've discovered programmers working in grey cubicals of resolute despair. It's a particularly tough environment, with no light, no personal hygiene, and extremely bad management. But the programmers appear to live -- and thrive -- off a combination of electricity and light, according to a new study. The result of that strange metabolism is the brilliant ability to avoid work called "Reading Slashdot".

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    biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
    1. Re:My discovery by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      That's nothing. I've discovered programmers working in grey cubicals of resolute despair.

      I used to work with an engineer who would buy breakfast burritos containing pork, then leave them on top of his monitor to keep them warm, sometimes until the next day. I would be surprised not to find a complete ecosystem in his pockets.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  7. its wrong to say 'isolated' by tkjtkj · · Score: 1

    If materials from this sub-glacial lake do seep out to the surface, as the photo seems to show, how on earth can we say the lake is 'isolated'? The proper term might be: contaminated! yes, the degree of contamination might be small, but this is 'science', no?

    --
    "There are 11 kinds of people: those who know binary, those who don't, and those who could not care less!"
  8. Re:How did it first appear? by jeffb+(2.718) · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's no evidence that life could ever appear in such environments starting from abiotic conditions, it seems pretty obvious these organisms evolved from more benign habitats.

    Like, say, a moon that's crunchy on the outside, but warm on the inside? With lots of organics and water?

    I don't think Europa is a perfect haven for biology, but I can easily imagine a race somewhere that has a complete explanation for how they evolved under an ice crust, and that would scoff at the notion of life on the exposed, irradiated, violent surface of a planet...

  9. Only Microbes... by INeededALogin · · Score: 1

    Are we sure their isn't more. How can science say this without getting Brendan Fraser involved. Science has failed us again.

  10. Re:How did it first appear? by Verteiron · · Score: 1

    Like the nice, safe, warm, possibly sulfur-filled depths of the ocean beneath Europa's frozen surface?

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    End of lesson. You may press the button.
  11. Pockets are amazing places... by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

    You'd be surprised to know what's in my pockets...

    1. Re:Pockets are amazing places... by Old+Grey+Beard · · Score: 2, Funny

      String ... or nothing!

      --
      "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it."
      - H. L. Mencken
    2. Re:Pockets are amazing places... by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      Eggses, precious. Eggses in its pocketses.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
  12. Reminds me of a Dan Brown book by ilikebees · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Point

    1. Re:Reminds me of a Dan Brown book by ciroknight · · Score: 1

      That was quite honestly the worst piece of garb..literature he wrote, though.

      --
      "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
  13. Isolated, but by tygerstripes · · Score: 1

    I doubt even they were unaffected by the Credit Crunch.

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    Meta will eat itself
  14. Thaw out the New Plague! by itomato · · Score: 1

    I'm waiting for one of these pockets of entombed microbes to contain the most heinous superbug ever confronted by humanity.

    (mu ha ha ha)

    But seriously, I can't help but feel it's possible for something to have been cooped up so long that we have zero defenses, as though a meteor hand-delivered a fresh batch of Space Flu.

    1. Re:Thaw out the New Plague! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That works both ways - bacteria that are too foreign will not be able to survive in the human body. Especially things like these - they live in sub-freezing, completely dark, extremely salty areas and live on iron and sulfur.

      There's not a chance that they are going to be able to survive in an environment that is 60-70 degrees F warmer, virtually no salt or sulfur, only a bit of iron, and highly oxygenated.

      These are about the last things that we need to worry about becoming a "superbug".

  15. Rød Snø! by Keith_Beef · · Score: 1

    Zombies in the ice?

    K.

    1. Re:Rød Snø! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      It rather reminds me of X-Files: Ice ;)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  16. Arthur C. Clarke FTW by NonUniqueNickname · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Maybe no one has read it. In Odyssey 3001 (The Final Odyssey) Clarke wrote about a sulfur-based life forms on Jupiter's Europa moon.

    1. Re:Arthur C. Clarke FTW by oneirophrenos · · Score: 2, Informative

      Maybe no one has read it. In Odyssey 3001 (The Final Odyssey) Clarke wrote about a sulfur-based life forms on Jupiter's Europa moon.

      This particular microbe, however, is not sulfur-based. "Sulfur-based" would indicate that its molecules are largely built out of sulfur (as ours are of carbon), whereas these microbes only utilize sulfur in their energy production.

    2. Re:Arthur C. Clarke FTW by NonUniqueNickname · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sorry, I misspoke when I said "Sulfur-based". The Europa critters in Odyssey 3001 metabolized sulfur, not sure of their composition. They were also said to be slower than earth life-forms, because metabolizing sulfur isn't as intensive as metabolizing oxygen.

  17. Re:Impressive, but the real question is by Opyros · · Score: 1
    According to Ars,

    The authors posit that the glacier itself might provide the source by extracting new iron as it scrapes across the underlying rocks.

  18. Re:How did it first appear? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't think Europa is a perfect haven for biology, but I can easily imagine a race somewhere that has a complete explanation for how they evolved under an ice crust, and that would scoff at the notion of life on the exposed, irradiated, violent surface of a planet...

    I'm not sure I would consider slashdotters a "race", but I for one and comforted by my maternal subterranean lair, and agree with the above statement.

  19. Similar to.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    They also have similar "red snow" in the glaciers of the high sierra. Although in the high sierra's, the sun is extremely intense.
    http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plaug98.htm

  20. Re:How did it first appear? by vamin · · Score: 1

    Actually, some of the reactions required for abiogenesis work better in ice: http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/did-life-evolve-in-ice/article_print

  21. Re:Impressive, but the real question is by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

    TFA states the iron leaches from the bedrock, I presume the sulphur does too.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  22. Completely offtopic but... by denzacar · · Score: 1

    I just want to say "thank you" for that sig.

    Wanted to point it out myself to all those that find "There are 10 kinds of people..."-line brilliant enough to keep copy/pasting it around but as I fall in that last group you mentioned...

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  23. Eating the past, with relish by handy_vandal · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "In 1949 some friends and I came upon a noteworthy news item in Nature, a magazine of the Academy of Sciences. It reported in tiny type that in the course of excavations on the Kolyma River a subterranean ice lens had been discovered which was actually a frozen stream-and in it were found frozen specimens of prehistoric fauna some tens of thousands of years old. Whether fish or salamander, these were preserved in so fresh a state, the scientific correspondent reported, that those present immediately broke open the ice encasing the specimens and devoured them with relish on the spot."

    - Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Arachipelago

    Link

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    -kgj