Homely Scientist

Recently scientists found bacteria preserved in an Antarctic glacier (talk about freeze drying!) and were able to get it growing in culture in the lab:

Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University, who led the study, describes the ancient bacteria as small round cells that had been in a “suspended state of animation for 8 million years”. He says the increasingly rapid flow of glaciers into the ocean as a result of global warming could release new organisms into the sea but he does not believe this is cause for concern because marine bacteria and viruses are typically far less harmful to human health than, for instance, those found on land Source: Boing Boing: Bacteria is eight-million-years-old, and still alive

Yeah, okay this is cool and all, but I’m not sure I agree with the assertion that there is nothing to fear.  See, what if some pathogen that old is re-released into the environment and the immunity to is long since gone?  What if this wipes out fish stocks?  Or worse plant or other smaller marine life that are the foundations of the food chain?

Let’s not even think about human pathogens that could be trapped in places.

Okay, okay … the risk isn’t huge … and no this isn’t something I’d lose sleep over, but when I read sections above I always feel like I’m in the opening scenes of some disaster movie…

Again, this is another potential off-shoot of global warming that I’m sure we’re not going to be too pleased about.

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