Um, Let’s Give This A Little More Thought

And now for something completely different: Russian scientists are close to breaking through the ice of Antarctica and making contact with a sub-glacial lake that hasn’t been exposed to outside air in 20 million years. Which begs the question: Why?

As the lead scientist says in this article, it’s “like exploring an alien planet where no one has been before. We don’t know what we’ll find.” Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Who knows what kind of bacteria or pathogen or creature could be unleashed? I mean, after 20 million years, whatever is down there probably would rather not be disturbed.

When some airborne microbe that can feed off the brain matter of humans is brought to the surface, this won’t seem like such a great idea.

Scientists have been drilling for 20 years through more than 2 miles of ice. Now they are about 130 feet from breaking through, but they’re running out of time before the Antarctic winter hits. Word of advice: Leave it be.