Russian scientists are claiming to have found a previously unknown type of bacteria in Lake Vostok in Antarctica.
Sergei Bulat, of the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics, said a sample obtained last year from the underground lake contained a bacteria that bears no resemblance to globally known existing types.
Quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, Bulat said the scientists regard the life form as “unclassified and unidentified.”
He said researchers have excluded possible contamination of the sample, which was obtained after drilling through Antarctica’s frozen crust.
Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica. It lies under thousands of meters of ice and is believed to have been undisturbed for millions of years.
Sergei Bulat, of the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics, said a sample obtained last year from the underground lake contained a bacteria that bears no resemblance to globally known existing types.
Quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, Bulat said the scientists regard the life form as “unclassified and unidentified.”
He said researchers have excluded possible contamination of the sample, which was obtained after drilling through Antarctica’s frozen crust.
Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica. It lies under thousands of meters of ice and is believed to have been undisturbed for millions of years.
