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    Life forms found 20 metres under ice, survived in isolation for 3000 years

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/...%7Conline-news

    "It is seven times as salty as the sea, pitch dark and 13 degrees below freezing. Lake Vida in East Antarctica has been buried for 2800 years under 20 metres of ice, but teems with life.

    The discovery of strange, abundant bacteria in a completely sealed, icebound lake strengthens the possibility that extraterrestrial life might exist on planets such as Mars and moons such as Jupiter's Europa.

    "Lake Vida is a model of what happens when you try to freeze a lake solid, and this is the same fate that any lakes on Mars would have gone through as the planet turned colder from a watery past," says Peter Doran of the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is co-leader of a team working in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica where Vida is situated. "Any Martian water bodies that did form would have gone through this Vida stage before freezing solid, entombing the evidence of the past ecosystem."

    The Vida bacteria, brought to the surface in cores drilled 27 metres down, belong to previously unknown species. They probably survive by metabolising the abundant quantities of hydrogen and oxides of nitrogen that Vida's salty, oxygen-free water has been found to contain."

  2. #2
    Banned Town Drunk's Avatar
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    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    Because its (maybe) there?

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    Herald of the Titans Irisel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    Because, it's part of modern (and past, I guess) society's lore and culture to want to find out; it's practically hard wired into us to NEED to know. That, and I REALLY want to go "nenner-nenner, haha, you lose," to Creationists, yes.

    Rule of Thumb: If the healer's HPS is higher than your DPS, you're doing it wrong.

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    i wonder what will happen now that its not isolated anymore.

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-26 at 10:32 PM ----------

    missed that this is in antarctica.. i wonder if its possible theres organisms completely alien in their physiology there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    I wonder...did one of your ancestors from around 1492 say "I have never understood why people want to explore that whole so-called "new world" that's being nicknamed "the Americas". We know it has forests and primitive life compared to us... ect ect... is it to disprove the world-is-flatonists? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find a new land?".

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    The why-bother movement, the bane of mankind.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by mvallas View Post
    I wonder...did one of your ancestors from around 1492 say "I have never understood why people want to explore that whole so-called "new world" that's being nicknamed "the Americas". We know it has forests and primitive life compared to us... ect ect... is it to disprove the world-is-flatonists? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find a new land?".
    Quite apt response. Might I add the spirit of exploration and discovery is perhaps the greatest part of humanity.

  9. #9
    Who the fuck cares why. We don't need a reason to explore. Exploration is its own reason.

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    Field Marshal blabber's Avatar
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    What could go wrong? how many of you played Halo Combat Evolved when it came out.. ...Flood...

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    Quote Originally Posted by mvallas View Post
    I wonder...did one of your ancestors from around 1492 say "I have never understood why people want to explore that whole so-called "new world" that's being nicknamed "the Americas". We know it has forests and primitive life compared to us... ect ect... is it to disprove the world-is-flatonists? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find a new land?".
    You make no sense at ALL ! The only reason America was ever discovered had nothing to do with PURE exploration it was to find a faster more lucrative trade route to India it was motivated by greed ..and also finding new land and new resources is a lot different and a lot more important then finding fossilized 1 cell martians.

    Now exploring to find intelligent life that is a noble en devour

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    What do you think the point of science is? We want to know why, pure and simple.

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    I think Town Drunk is getting a bit too much flak for this one.

    Quote Originally Posted by mvallas View Post
    I wonder...did one of your ancestors from around 1492 say "I have never understood why people want to explore that whole so-called "new world" that's being nicknamed "the Americas". We know it has forests and primitive life compared to us... ect ect... is it to disprove the world-is-flatonists? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find a new land?".
    There's a massive difference between finding new land to settle and control (key word: resources) and finally proving the general acceptance that earth isn't the only place life can pop up. Not only is it widely accepted and assumed, at this point, that life is capable of existing on other planets (at least by those of scientific inclination) but what exactly is finding bacteria on Mars going to do for us? I'm not saying this to say we shouldn't explore mars, or moons like Europa; but in real terms what is discovering a strain of bacteria in either of those places going to do for us?

    Yeah, sure, it's going to prove we were right that life is capable of sprouting up somewhere else. And?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    dumbest response evarrrrr

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    Banned Town Drunk's Avatar
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    Thank you xenofreak your a very reasonable person . Im not knocking exploration of this kind I am just wondering about the under lying motivation really . Like how do you pitch a billion dollar project to go explore mars because there might be fossilized life forms . I still don't know how they pitched going to the moon honestly . I could see if it had resources of any kind but just to take a walk ? ( Hmm come to think of it maybe the motivation had something to do with testing various guidance systems for ballistic missiles ? ) /tinfoilhat
    Last edited by Town Drunk; 2012-11-27 at 07:23 AM.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    Thank you xenofreak your a very reasonable person . Im not knocking exploration of this kind I am just wondering about the under lying motivation really . Like how do you pitch a billion dollar project to go explore mars because there might be fossilized life forms . I still don't know how they pitched going to the moon honestly . I could see if it had resources of any kind but just to take a walk ?
    The innate desire to explore and understand is the best thing about humanity.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    Even finding single celled life on another planet would be proof that life can exist on other planets. Which would mean that we aren't alone in the universe.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?
    So basically, I specialize in Astronomy and Physics. Life on Mars would shake the foundations people on Earth, proving that life can emerge on places other than Earth is simply amazing. It would mesmerize the entire world, it would inspire generations, much like the Moon Landing. NASA's budget would hopefully get increased, and the search for INTELLIGENT life would start. You have to take it one small step by step.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pandamists View Post
    So basically, I specialize in Astronomy and Physics. Life on Mars would shake the foundations people on Earth, proving that life can emerge on places other than Earth is simply amazing. It would mesmerize the entire world, it would inspire generations, much like the Moon Landing. NASA's budget would hopefully get increased, and the search for INTELLIGENT life would start. You have to take it one small step by step.
    Ahh an intelligent answer ...thank you

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    Quote Originally Posted by Town Drunk View Post
    I have never understood why people want to find life on mars anyways ? We know it will be simple life like 1 cell bacteria ..etc etc ...is it to disprove the creationists ? Those people don't believe in that anyways so why are they so psyched to find life on Mars ?

    maybe they know the cure for all illness...or how to make better energy you never know where theres 1 theres bound to be more and different ones too
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