We Have Life! Scientists Confirm Microbes Beneath Antarctic Glaciers
Lake Whillans What six inches of lake looks like half a mile under an Antarctic glacier, it's not much but some call it home. Dr. Alberto Behar, JPL/ASUFor real this time! In the race to find Earth's chilliest and deepest life forms, one team has jumped out ahead and proven it has found life. For the first time, scientists have confirmed with multiple tests that they have captured swarms of microbes living deep in the dark wetlands beneath half a mile of glacier ice. Late last month, we reported that American scientists from the National Science Foundation and NASA-funded WISSARD Project found what they believed to be microbes by drilling a 2.5-foot-wide hole in the ice. At the time, the scientists conducted a preliminary test in which DNA-sensitive dye made cells in the sample glow green under a microscope, suggesting life. The problem: that test doesn't always produce accurate results. So...