Life Discovered Under Antarctic Ice

[Malthus]

... and surprisingly complex life, too. A tentacle was observed. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100315/ap_on_sc/us_sci_antarctica_sea_life

Awakening the shuggoths aside, this is very exciting proof that life can exist in very harsh conditions.

[jimmy olsen]

Awesome! On to Europa.

[derspiess]

The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?

Yes, let's use this as another excuse to obsess over extraterrestrial life

I'm no scientist, but I would have to think that whatever life forms exist under the Antarctic ice are a spinoff from life forms that originated in much warmer conditions.  As such, unless Europa had a particularly warm period fairly recently, it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

[HVC]

The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?

Yes, let's use this as another excuse to obsess over extraterrestrial life

I'm no scientist, but I would have to think that whatever life forms exist under the Antarctic ice are a spinoff from life forms that originated in much warmer conditions.  As such, unless Europa had a particularly warm period fairly recently, it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

That, and no matter how cold and dark it is under the arctic ice the water there still has access to food stuffs originating in warming climates thanks to ocean currents. Europa has no such thing. Even if there is life there i find it hard to believe it would be complex. Life there has no access to the sun and chemosynthesis is no where as effecient as photosynthesis so i doubt a whole food chain can be sustained without sunlight.

[chipwich]

The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?

Yes, let's use this as another excuse to obsess over extraterrestrial life

I'm no scientist, but I would have to think that whatever life forms exist under the Antarctic ice are a spinoff from life forms that originated in much warmer conditions.  As such, unless Europa had a particularly warm period fairly recently, it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

That, and no matter how cold and dark it is under the arctic ice the water there still has access to food stuffs originating in warming climates thanks to ocean currents. Europa has no such thing. Even if there is life there i find it hard to believe it would be complex. Life there has no access to the sun and chemosynthesis is no where as effecient as photosynthesis so i doubt a whole food chain can be sustained without sunlight.

Lifeforms in the Marianas trench do just fine. Besides, is it really implausible that life could gain sustanace from atmospheric gases?

[Richard Hakluyt]

My guess is that life evolving to survive in harshening conditions is more likely than life originating in harsh conditions. Of course the question is obscure because we don't really know what constitutes harsh conditions, in a universal sense that is 

[BuddhaRhubarb]

That Planet earth BBC series from a few years ago, as well as herzog's recent Antarctic romp both show lots of under Antarctic sealife. how is this news?

[Agelastus]

That Planet earth BBC series from a few years ago, as well as herzog's recent Antarctic romp both show lots of under Antarctic sealife. how is this news?

It's not clear in the article, but is this the lake under the icesheet they were talking about a few years ago, and not a location with access to the sea at all?

edit: Ah, further down they do say it has access to the sea ("twelve miles from open sea".)

[Darth Wagtaros]

Was this a city of the Elder Things?

[BuddhaRhubarb]

ahh I should read more carefully before posting but still I'm not surpised, there's life pretty much everywhere we've been able to look in the oceans.

Yay tentacles.

[Malthus]

All we need is a Japanese schoolgirl in a heated diving suit, and we are in business.

[Ed Anger]

Was this a city of the Elder Things?

Cthulhu sucks.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Was this a city of the Elder Things?

Cthulhu sucks.

Your soul in. yes.

[Berkut]

It is interesting, but only to the extent that it is another chance to show that extraterrestrial life is NOT likely that has not turned out to be the case.

While life in extremely harsh conditions on Earth does not mean that we should expect to find life in extremely harsh conditions elsewhere, NOT finding life in harsh conditions on the Earth would suggest that life is even less likely in similar conditions elsewhere.

So this is interesting data, at least to those who are interested in the question.

[Fate]

The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?

Yes, let's use this as another excuse to obsess over extraterrestrial life

I'm no scientist, but I would have to think that whatever life forms exist under the Antarctic ice are a spinoff from life forms that originated in much warmer conditions.  As such, unless Europa had a particularly warm period fairly recently, it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

Plus, God didn't tell us in the bible that he made life on Europa.