Cells from Antarctic lake may yield clues to ancient ecosystems
FEB 04, 2013
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026739
Science News : Microbial cells that contain DNA and are actively using oxygen have been found in samples that a US drilling team collected from a subglacial lake in West Antarctica. Last month the researchers successfully retrieved three 10-liter water samples from Lake Whillans, which lies some 800 meters below the ice surface. The samples are the first clean, uncontaminated oness to be collected from below the continent. Because it may have been at least 100 000 years since the lake was last exposed to the open air, the cells could represent ecosystems long extinct on Earth’s surface.
© 2013 American Institute of Physics
