A group of scientists drilled through 800m of ice to a lake in Antarctica deep under the surface. They found living microbes in this lake, significant because they don't need sunlight to survive. Because they obviously cannot do photosynthesis for energy without sunlight, scientists are using the samples that they took to figure out how they get their energy. Predictions are currently that they feed off organic material in the water or that they live off of chemical reactions using dissolved carbon dioxide or minerals in the bedrock. Scientists hope that their findings about life in Antarctica will help them to understand extraterrestrial life.
This is so crazy to me. I always thought that everything relied on the sun for energy in some way. I guess maybe it does if it relies on the chemical reactions from dissolved carbon dioxide and minerals. Maybe? Thoughts on this, anyone? Personally, I just think this is incredible. Thinking about how life may exist in completely different conditions makes me think that there just might be life on other planets.
The original article was posted in Nature, so that could be a good place for more information if there is interest. There is another article on the same topic on the New York Times website. Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/science/living-bacteria-found-deep-under-antarctic-ice-scientists-say.html?_r=0
Themes of Nature of Science
1. Science is collaborative- Different groups of scientists had attempted to drill into this lake, but this was the first success. It is also necessary in a project like this to have teams of people. The people who were able to take care that there was no contamination from the surface are not the same scientists who will be best fit to look at the samples and determine how the microbes get their energy.
2. Science is based on evidence- There was no guessing that there is life in this lake. The scientists took samples and tested them to determine that there were in fact microbes in the water and sediment at the bottom of the lake. The couldn't make the claim without evidence.
The idea that this information could lead to more knowledge about the possibility of extraterrestrial life is so cool. I’ve always believed that all living things require sunlight as well, but I’m assuming this still applies, no matter how indirectly it may be. It’s awesome that this discovery has been made.
ReplyDeleteI read the article and I hope that this information really does help. At first I thought that the water might have been contaminated, but the article says that all possible precautions were taken to prevent this, so it’s nearly guaranteed that there was actual life. I think it’ll be cool to see what might come of this information.