Scientists Confirm Life Under Antarctic Ice 46
MikeChino writes A new paper by a group of researchers from Montana State University confirms that life can survive under antarctic ice. Researchers led by John Priscu drilled down into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and pulled up organisms called Archaea. These organisms survive by converting methane into energy, enabling them to survive where there is no wind or sunlight, buried deep under the ice.
Re:Wind and sunlight? (Score:5, Interesting)
What surprises me is the "the source of the ammonium and methane is most likely from the breakdown of organic matter that was deposited in the area hundreds of thousands of years ago when Antarctica was warmer and the sea inundated West Antarctica." part.
If the methane was already readily available, why didn't the organisms multiply to use up the methane faster?
I guess some organism breaks down the organic matter to methane and thereby limits the availability for the methane eating organism. But over the course of a hundred thousand years I feel that such a limited ecosystem should have exhausted the resources long ago.
What is the limiting factor that prevents this?
Re: (Score:3)
What surprises me is the "the source of the ammonium and methane is most likely from the breakdown of organic matter that was deposited in the area hundreds of thousands of years ago when Antarctica was warmer and the sea inundated West Antarctica." part. If the methane was already readily available, why didn't the organisms multiply to use up the methane faster? I guess some organism breaks down the organic matter to methane and thereby limits the availability for the methane eating organism. But over the course of a hundred thousand years I feel that such a limited ecosystem should have exhausted the resources long ago. What is the limiting factor that prevents this?
I guess everything is really slow because of the cold temperature. It would be nice to have a comment from someone that knows about this type of ecosystem.
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I wonder if similar critters could survive in the liquid methane lakes and rivers of Titan ?
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The average surface temperature on Titan is about -180 C. On Titan water is a rock, and since these (and all other Terran) organisms are mostly water I think it unlikely. Any critter that lives on Titan will not be at all similar to anything on Earth, no matter how extreme its environment.
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Water is important here on Earth as communicating fluid, a medium for transportation of molecules in cytoplasm. It also happens to be important solvent, due to its polarity. In a way, abundance of water shapes the way we think about chemistry and how we classify chemical compounds. In the world where water doesn't form highly corrosive liquids, e.g. pH is largely nonsensical. Water molecule in liquid phase easily breaks down and emits a free proton, but does liquid methane do as well? Does it have some othe
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I'm a biogeochemist (haven't worked on this project or in the arctic, but I know about microbial communities and organic matter decay) and while this is certainly interesting, it is not very strange.
What you have to remember is that organic matter decays very quickly (and some types decay faster than others, e.g. DNA seems to decay faster than lignin), but only if it has plenty of oxygen. For this same reason we still find oil after millions of years, it is anaerobically decayed organic matter. Furthermore,
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These organisms survive by converting methane into energy, enabling them to survive where there is no wind or sunlight,
The missed the part that makes this case unique. The organism could live with no wind, no sunlight and no cheetos!
Sure you could use store brand cheese puffs.........if you call that living.
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Researchers need to at least check whether organisms living on this diet can generate code in a caffeine-free ecosystem.
The Old Ones (Score:4, Insightful)
They better not stir them up
Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! (Score:2)
Good for them (Score:3)
"These organisms survive by converting methane into energy, enabling them to survive where there is no wind or sunlight..."
I convert methane into something...worse.
Re:Good for them (Score:4, Insightful)
This life is not necessarily in a circle of life. It can be methane formed in a similar way as natural gas or swamp gas. These can be pockets of methane that can eventually be depleted.
I'm just speculating though. As a good /. member, I didn't even rtfa.
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They didn't, but since they speak Archaeanish, it was a simple matter of association.
Re:called Archaea (Score:5, Funny)
Researchers led by John Priscu drilled down into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and pulled up organisms called Archaea
Were they called this before we pulled them up? Did they tell us they were called Archaea?
If I recall from my comic books Archaea tried to breed with Betty and Veronica.
I knew they were frigid, but this is the first I'm hearing about their meth usage.
Makes sense. (Score:1)
Life is created under ideal conditions then it evolves to survive in harsh environments. Certainly I would prefer to believe that the opposite is true, but the evidence presented so far does not support that.
Re:Sounds familiar (more haiku) (Score:3)
I almost thought that was a Haiku:
Methane and ice sheets - Just like one of the space moons; As well as comets.
Archaea icebergs
Loves Betty,Veronica
"Just the Tip", he begs...
Unique? (Score:2)
These organisms survive by converting methane into energy, enabling them to survive where there is no wind or sunlight, buried deep under the ice.
Whats producing the methane?
Biology != Science (Score:1)
The "butterfly collectors" are surprised again ... well some are. The others are getting used to the idea that they really have no clue about where and how life can exist.
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And how are you supposed to understand it without looking?
All these worlds are yours except Europa... (Score:2)
But what about... (Score:2)
I see that nobody has asked the really important question.
How do they taste?
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Having ingested fumarole Archea (and survived the truly amazing case of the 24-hour runs resulting from that stupidity) I would guess really, really nasty.
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John Carpenter's The Thing (Score:2)
yep, knew it all along