Feature Earth

Year in review: Life thrives under Antarctica

Thousands of microbe varieties found

Active bacterial communities

Active bacterial communities teeming 800 meters below Antarctica's massive ice sheet (culture from a sub-glacial lake shown) bolsters the idea that life exists elsewhere in the solar system. 

B. Christner

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

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An unseen ecosystem flourishes in the darkness, entombed beneath 800 meters of ice. In 2014, researchers shed light on this microbial community.