The new discovery of American scientists significantly expanded, which may be life. They found living organisms in the Antarctic lake View, which for three thousand years was completely isolated from the outside world under twenty meter layer of ice.

Incredibly, bacteria live and thrive in very salty water, without light and oxygen at a temperature of minus 13 degrees Celsius. And it is not about one type, but of a whole ecosystem, including dozens of families. Detailed results published in the journal PNAS.

"It changes our understanding of conditions that limit the existence of life, " says Professor Peter Doran (Peter Doran) from the University of Illinois (UIC) - Low temperature and high salinity are themselves a serious test. Add the absence of solar energy and any contribution from the atmosphere and enjoy the extreme conditions".

The lake View was opened in 1958 new Zealand expedition. In 1996 study showed that salt water lakes were hidden under the ice layer not less than 2,8 thousand years ago.

In 2002, a team of scientists led by Doran first found in the surface layers of the lake frozen microorganisms, which were subsequently revived. Now researchers have returned to Antarctica, to try and find instances, is showing signs of metabolism. To do this, they added into the water, a special substance, which is connected with DNA molecules and embellish the living cells. It turned out that the lake, which at first glance seems unsuitable for life, inhabited by thousands of microorganisms.

"Chemical analysis shows that water reacts with sediments, resulting in the formation of nitrous oxide and molecular hydrogen, " explains co-author of opening Fabien Koenig (Fabien Kenig), Perhaps the microbes get some of the energy through hydrogen".

The research allows us to be optimistic about the prospects of finding unearthly life within the Solar system , for example, the ice-covered Jupiter's moon Europe, under the cool surface which may be hiding a whole ocean.

Scientists continue to search for life in other isolated lakes cold continent. Recently, Russian experts said that the first tests of water from the largest subglacial lake Vostok were sterile. However, they have not lost the hope to find the organisms in the deeper layers.