No Microbes In First Sample From Lake Vostok

ananyo writes "A first analysis of the ice that froze onto the drillbit used in last February's landmark drilling to a pristine Antarctic lake shows no native microbes came up with the lake water, according to Sergey Bulat of Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (Russia). The very uppermost layer of Lake Vostock appears to be 'lifeless' so far, says Bulat, but that doesn't mean the rest of it is. Bulat and his colleagues counted the microbes present in the ice sample and checked their genetic makeup to figure out the phylotypes. They counted fewer than 10 microbes/ml — about the same magnitude they would expect to find in the background in their clean room."

Comments

Davidoff....

[vikingpower]

...will now buy the lake, for its water to serve as the main and sole ingredient in its "Cool Water" perfume.

they are going about this all wrong

[circletimessquare]

they should be piping this water out for the high end bottled water market

"No Microbes In First Sample From Lake Vostok" is of course then the ultimate marketing tool

$9.99 for a 32 oz frosted white glass bottle with images of a pristine Antarctic mountain range.

Hire me Coca Cola!

Re:Not fooled

[RobbieCrash]

Good point, we should just rush in to things like this assuming there's nothing that could go wrong. What could possibly go wrong with that plan!

Nutrients

[Jeng]

So what exactly do they suspect these bacteria have been eating down there in the deep dark cold?

Re:Nutrients

[fustakrakich]

each other

Re:Nutrients

[Anonymous Coward]

They're expecting to get more microbes from the sediment at the bottom of the lake. Sediments are comparatively stuffed with nutrients, and the lack of light and cold aren't much of a problem (there is probably stuff growing at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, just very slowly).

Re:Nutrients

[ColdWetDog]

So what exactly do they suspect these bacteria have been eating down there in the deep dark cold?

Cthulhu has been feeding them bits of the Snickers bar he was given as campaign contribution... Or perhaps he's been feeding them bits of the campaign contributors themselves.

But seriously, a background of 10 critters / cc isn't all that 'clean' and

Bulat and his colleagues counted the microbes present in the ice sample and checked their genetic makeup to figure out the phylotypes. They counted fewer than 10 microbes/ml — about the same magnitude they would expect to find in the background in their clean room. And three of the four phylotypes they identified matched contaminants from the drilling oil, with the fourth unknown but also most likely from the lubricant.

points to one of the bigger concerns about this experiment - you are going to contaminate the lake at this point as the drilling technology is pretty primitive - basically pouring hot water into a hole.

Re:Nutrients

[Capt.Albatross]

I think they are simply saying that the count is not statistically significant, as it is at about the background level of the clean room they are working in, and three of the four types identified match contaminants on the equipment.

Arrogant Scientists

[SgtDink]

Did they not see The Thing? Who knows the dangers in the dark of that lake.

Re:Arrogant Scientists

[rubycodez]

yes, and all antarctic camps are equipped with a length of copper wire, flamethrower and dynamite for that reason. Anyone refusing the copper wire blood test is incinerated as a precaution

More Importantly?

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

Did they find water on Antarctica?

Continued Domininance

[3ryon]

I for one welcome our continued dominance of Earth.

Re:Not fooled

[plover]

You could watch the original Fern Gully, but I also like the 2009 remake, "Avatar".

Seriously, line them up. They're both animated movies about a foreign environment, rich in resources valuable to humans. You've got a human male protagonist, who is originally a member of the first wave of humans planning to harvest the natural resources without concern for the natives. Through some external technical wizardry, protagonist changes size and ends up in the middle of the new environment, where he meets a beautiful native female. As the human initially navigates his way around the environment with his new size and point of view, predictably comedic results occur. Overconfidence quickly leads him in over his head into a near-fatal situation, where the native female uses her intimate knowledge of the environment to rescue him from his own ineptitude. The male is attracted to the female, who rejects him. Over time the human discovers the previously ignored beauty of the ecosystem and learns to respect the environment; which enables the female to grow attracted to him. The female is conflicted, though, and consults with her wise parent, an important elder of the natives. The human continues to learn the native ways, culminating with taming and flying on the native flying animals. The massive wave of normal sized humans then arrive in giant machines to harvest the resources. The movies climax when the protagonist fully changes sides and defends the environment from the encroaching humans, using his knowledge of the human systems and ways to organize the natives to defeat the invaders. The female finally acknowledges her love of the male.

Even the scenery is the same. Both movies have large trees that are important to the natives. Both feature loops of stone reminiscent of magnetic flux lines.

The only thing missing from Avatar is the Robin Williams character, Batty. The human sidekick in Avatar isn't nearly as humorous.

Re:Not fooled

[Anonymous Coward]

How long have you been waiting for someone to mention Fern Gully on Slashdot?

Re:Not fooled

[nedlohs]

Wow that's highly original. No one has ever noticed that before, well other than all the people who ranted about it in 2009 of course.

Re:NOT FOLAD

[xevioso]

I, too, can use the L33T Translator...although the above person seems to have used a tard translator of which I am not aware.

Anyway, to wit:

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Re:Not fooled

[ChatHuant]

so something EVIL must be going on!

Yeah, I think the right question is: what lurks there under the sleeping waters of lake Vostok that ate EVEN the microbes?

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtag'n!

Re:Not fooled

[plover]

What, you didn't see the resemblance when you watched Avatar?

I think maybe Fern Gully just stuck with me more because it was one of the first movies I took my son to.

Re:Well... (no pun inteded)

[rogueippacket]

Not quite - they have used tons (literally) of antifreeze and lubricants to achieve these depths, and then a pool of freon and a heated drill tip to breach the lake. These chemicals froze before reaching the lake, and I can't name too many bacteria which would survive the barrage of chemicals/hot/cold temperatures on the way down. So far so good!

Re:Not fooled

[Chickan]

I think AC's statement was addressing how long winded your response was. While I do not disagree with your thesis, your argument was quite thorough for a simple comparison. This leads AC and myself to believe you've spent a LOT of time thinking about this. Carry on.