Scientists have recovered microorganisms from ancient Antarctic ice and coaxed it back to life in the lab, according to a study published today.
The glacial ice acted as a "gene Popsicle," preserving DNA that hasn't circulated in the gene pool for up to 8 million years.
. . .
Marine microbiologist Kay Bidle, the study's lead author, and his colleagues studied blocks of ice about 8 inches square that were excavated from the Transantarctic Mountains.
The ice from Mullins Valley was about 100,000 years old, and ice from Beacon Valley was about 8 million years old. The samples were taken from 6 inches beneath the surface of a glacier, which was buried under up to 30 inches of debris.
More, including interplanetary speculation, here.
2 comments:
Evolution is a concept best served...cold.
Heh heh heh.
I don't think it will even phase them, though. Reality doesn't make a dent, as a general rule.
-left rev.
Unpossible. Those microorgan-thingies can only be 6,000 years old.
/fundie whackjob
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