Famous Lake Vostok in Antarctica disappointed scientists

In the mysterious subglacial reservoir in Antarctica have not yet found life. Famous Lake Vostok in Antarctica, alas, disappointed scientists. As Sergey Bulat, a member of the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics and the team leader for the study of the extracted samples from the lake ice, they could not find traces of life.

Preliminary test results reported Oct. 18 in the journal Nature, with reference to Bulat. According to him, the upper layers of the lake, apparently, lifeless. The scientist added that it is still very preliminary results, in addition, it is hoped to detect micro-organisms in the deeper layers.

Bulat was very careful in the estimates mainly because he and his colleagues studied the ice of the frozen on the drilling equipment. It is, so to speak, only a plunged" into the mysterious lake. Full of water samples from the East until could be obtained.

There were four types of bacteria are found, that belong to the contaminants. These bacteria were also found in the drilling fluid and drill with the lake water was obmyta this dirty drilling fluid, two kinds of the samples of bacteria were found on humans. That is nothing interesting.

General conclusion is: the top cells not in the lake ice is also no cell populations - there lifeless. Water may contain something - quoted by Bulat Izvestia . Bulat added that now he is counting on new models that must come to his laboratory in May next year - if all goes well.

Recall Lake Vostok was discovered in 1996 on the basis of the forecast, which was famous geographer Andrei Kapitsa in the late fifties. Attempts to reach the lake have been many times, but for different reasons postponed.

Only in February this year, the Russian expedition managed to reach the surface. In 2013, plans to produce new samples of water from the lake, and in the 2013-2014 season. should begin full-scale study of the lake devices.

In the world of science Lake Vostok is an increased interest because it has for millions of years has been isolated from the outside world thick ice. As a result, it could be preserved microorganisms, unlike other forms of life on Earth. Conditions in Lake Vostok, in addition, similar to those that exist beyond our planet, such as the moons of Jupiter. Therefore, the study of the lake can be useful also for space biology.