Antarctic lake may host new microbial life form
MAR 08, 2013
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026827
BBC : One year after breaching the surface of Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, Russian scientists claim to have discovered a new type of bacterial life. The lake, buried almost 4 km below the ice, is believed to have been formed millions of years ago. Because of its extreme isolation, scientists think it could host microbial life forms long extinct on Earth’s surface. “After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database,” said Sergei Bulat, of the Saint Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. Until the data are verified by other experts, however, the life form remains “unclassified and unidentified.”
© 2013 American Institute of Physics
