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Scientists are melting ice from a lake in Antarctica that has been frozen for a million years, in order to study the microbes trapped within it. Are they releasing something that could be dangerous?

Researchers have thawed ice estimated to be at least a million years old from above Lake Vostok, an ancient lake that lies hidden more than two miles beneath the frozen surface of Antarctica, in order to examine the eons-old water for microorganisms. They want to try to figure out how these tiny, living “time capsules” survived the ages in total darkness, in freezing cold and without food and energy from the sun.
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Almost a year ago, we asked the question, when will Yellowstone blow? The Yellowstone “supervolcano” has risen at a record rate since mid-2004. A blob of molten rock that size of Los Angeles that has been discovered 6 miles beneath the slumbering volcano could be the problem.

Seismologist Robert B. Smith reassures us that “there is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion. That’s the bottom line. A lot of calderas [giant volcanic craters] worldwide go up and down over decades without erupting. Our best evidence is that the crustal magma chamber is filling with molten rock, but we have no idea how long this process goes on before there either is an eruption or the inflow of molten rock stops and the caldera deflates again.”
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Autumn’s usual red, orange and yellow leaves arrived later than usual this year and in some places, leaves didn’t change color at all. Does this have anything to do with global warming?

In LiveScience.com, Andrea Thompson reports that delayed fall foliage occurred not only in the US, but also in parts of Europe. The reason could be drought, but it could also be global warming. But if climate change IS the cause, it’s not because of warmer temperatures, it’s because of higher levels of carbon dioxide, since experiments where scientists exposed trees to elevated levels of carbon dioxide showed that they retained their leaves and stayed greener for a longer period of time.

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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This morning I opened the latest issue of the New Scientist and found myself reading that a SECOND universe is apparently out there beyond our own. I have to admit that I was, quite simply, knocked speechless. This is because, when I was talking to the Master of the Key, he said that there were universes beyond our own. However, at the time, I rejected his statement as obviously incorrect, and changed the subject.

There was, in 1998, not the slightest indication anywhere in physics or cosmology that there could be other physical universes. So when he said, “There are more galaxies in your universe than there are stars in your galaxy, and more universes in the firmament than there are galaxies in your universe,” (P.67) I listened politely and changed the subject.
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