Female Explorers:

The last frontier?
Yes the frozen desert of Antarctica has been called the last and only true frontier on Earth. And who is exploring this frontier?

I will just let the WOMEN tell you about it.

On a personal note, Saint Mary's ladies, this one is for YOU!

Just click on the photo above, then a clip will start (after one add). The segment is a clip from the Today Show, Feb 5, 2007. Note that the entire show is longer and continues on Tuesday Feb 6th as well.

Female explorers at the bottom of the world

Extremophiles:

If you have been to the partner blog then you already know a little about what extremophiles are and where you can find them. But let's go a little more in depth, shall we? When I first heard about an upcoming lecture by Dr. J. Priscu, I had never heard anything about extremophiles. Right away I did a bit of preliminary research.

Extremophiles (see photo) are organisms that thrive in extreme environments. Examples of these extremes are: hot (240F), cold (-90F), acidic (salty), basic, dark, highly pressurized, (1,100 times atmospheric pressure), high radiation or toxicity levels, low O2 levels, and there are even those that thrive on a very low consumption of carbon sources (metabolites). Just think, if humans were to endure one of the many items on this list, we would not survive. And yet these microbes do just that, and have done for millions of years.

Objectives of Research: The central objectives of Dr. J. Priscu's Antarctic research are to monitor the physical, chemical, and biological activity of the extremophiles found in the lake ice of four different Antarctic lakes.

Methods: One means of doing this will be to anaylyze the presence of chlorophyll-a using fluorescence. Another is to look at the activity of phytoplankton found in the gathered samples and major ions using ion chromatography (IC). Anions and cations are analyzed in separate runs on the IC.
Major anions: F-, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, and SO42-.
Major cations: Li+, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. Dissolved organic and inorganic carbon sources, organic nitrogen, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate, are some of the other molecules we are interested in.

The Bigger Scope: When looking at the data gathered from this reaserch in over the past 20-30 years, the scope of understanding expands to include hydrology and ecology of the lakes. Furthermore, correlations between extreme life in Antarctica and the orgins of life or life on Mars can be found and expanded. (see article: How Life Began)

Assortment of Phytoplankton found at lake sites (see: photo Lake Bonney):
Rotifer
Chlamydomonas
Chrysophytes
Heterotrophs
Oscillatoria
Phormidium
Protozoans & Other
Miscellaneous

Research Ethics:

It is very important for researchers of every kind to consider the ethics of science before embarking on their study of any organism or event. The ethics of science has many different meanings.

1) Ethics of Caring for Creatures: Taking humane care of all the organisms, plants, and animals that are participating in the study is a must in all lines of research for many reasons. Most importantly it is the obligation of the scientist to adhere to the 3 R's of Animal Research at all times.

a. Replace- animal experiments with non-animal techniques.
b. Reduce- the number of animals used to the lowest possible number.
c. Refine- the way experiments are carried out.

Furthermore, the experimental design must offer every practicable safeguard to the
animal. "Animals lives should not be wasted because of inadequate knowledge of the requirements of the species being used, incorrect management or handling techniques, inappropriate or incorrect experimental design, or lack of surgical knowledge and experience. It must be remembered that animals can and do suffer if knowledge, practices, and proper procedures are lacking. Animal care is everyone’s responsibility" (Giridharan, 2000).
If taking the life of an animal is necessary for the research it must be done carefully and in strict adherence to the proper guidelines. Also animals should only be terminated for scientific purposes if it is absolutely impossible to keep the animal alive.

2) Ethics of Reporting all Findings: Far too often scientists enter into a study with a preconceived conception of the expected or even desired outcome. Scientists who have fallen into this pitfall have been known to lean on their data, "fudge," plagiarize, underreport or overreport data, or even down right lie about findings.

Cases of Scientific Misconduct:

Elias Alsabti who apparently plagiarized as many as 60 scientific papers during the late 1970's. John Darsee whose scientific career in cardiovascular research appears to have included a series of fabricated experiments. William Summerlin whose work in immunology in the early 1970s was challenged when skin grafts on mice were found to have been drawn with a black marking pen. Robert Gallo's claims to priority in the isolation and identification of the AIDS virus. David Baltimore's involvement in an immunological experiment that still cannot be replicated by other researchers (History of Research Ethics)

3) Ethics of Limiting Impact of Research:

Humans can arbitrarily impact scientific research in several ways. Following the thread of animal research a common way humans impact and in effect alter the outcome of research is by interacting with animals in different ways. Each interaction a researcher has with his or her animals changes the way they behave and the results that are obtained from the study. All researchers must be mindful of this impact and keep it to a minimum. Furthermore, scientists need to acknowledge the fact that conditions in a laboratory and/or the handling of animals by humans does impact results and therefore should be mentioned in the research paper if it is deemed necessary.

Another way humans may impact current and future research is by tampering with the ecosystem or environment that is being studied. This is very important in all research because if specimens are studied outside of their natural environment the results may be altered do to increased stress. But also if the organisms are studied in their environment the preservation of that environment is very important to the current an future research in that area.

This is doubly important in an area such as Antarctica where the environment is so pristine and untouched by humans. Also because the purity of the environment is what draws researchers to Antarctica great care must be taken by present researchers in order to ensure that future research is not jeopardized by current research.

Please read this paper about what the Priscu Research Group does in order to limit the contamination of Antarctica's pristine environment. Priscu Research Group