In scientific coup, Russians reach Antarctic lake

[kristopher]

In scientific coup, Russians reach Antarctic lake

MOSCOW (AP) -- Opening a scientific frontier miles (kilometers) under the Antarctic ice, Russian experts drilled down and finally reached the surface of a gigantic freshwater lake, an achievement the mission chief likened to placing a man on the moon.

Lake Vostok could hold living organisms that have been locked in icy darkness for some 20 million years, as well as clues to the search for life elsewhere in the solar system.

Touching the surface of the lake, the largest of nearly 400 subglacial lakes in Antarctica, came after more than two decades of drilling, and was a major achievement avidly anticipated by scientists around the world.

"In the simplest sense, it can transform the way we think about life," NASA's chief scientist Waleed Abdalati told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday....

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20120209p2g00m0in145000c.html


See also: http://www.democraticunderground.com/12281889

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. Thanks for the update

I believe that this site will reveal many amazing discoveries.
I will miss the John Carpenter 'thing' mystic with the missing scientists.
Oh well....

[Soylent Brice]

2. I can't wait to see what lifeforms emerge from this discovery. n/t

[LongTomH]

3. Any life forms in Lake Vostok will have to be 'chemotrophic'

Chemotroph describes life forms that live off chemical reactions other than photosynthesis. The Wikipedia definition is "organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments."

Chemotrophs are the type of life forms found around 'black smokers,' deep ocean volcanic vents.

Such lifeforms can also be called extremophiles. There's an interesting article on extremophiles on the Astrobiology.com website.

For me, extreme environments are those which require significant modification of organisms living in them from their immediate ancestors. For example, the Antarctic icefishes have had to do a lot of "unfishy" evolving to suit their environment, like losing most of the hemoglobin in their blood. I think that is rather extreme. On the other hand, it may be that someday we will find a whole planet where the inhabitants arose and evolved under the conditions that our icefish enjoy. In that instance, they would be living in conditions that are the norm for their biology and not extreme at all!

Is "extreme" here "normal" out there?

Are there environments on Earth, which may resemble those we expect to find on other worlds? Herein lies the strongest connection between Earth's extreme environments and life on other planets. When we look at our own planet's most challenging environments, we are really looking for clues to what may be the normal conditions on other planets. We want a hint of what we may be searching for when we investigate those other worlds for signs of life.

We know that there are a number of environments that mimic some features of the dry, cold surface of Mars. The Antarctic Dry Valleys and their permanently ice-covered lakes may represent one stage of Mars' past development. While we have only recently become aware of the deep subsurface microbial inhabitants of Earth living at many kilometers depth, their possible counterparts in the deep surface of Mars may be all that is left of a once more extensive Martian biology.

The last paragraph refers to the possibility that Mars may have had flowing water on the surface in earlier eras, possibly even an ocean.