Lake Vostok micro-organism. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a micro-organism discovered in ice from Lake Vostok, Antarctica. This freshwater lake is trapped beneath up to 4 kilometers of ice, and may harbor a unique ecosystem. The lake's water stays liquid due to geothermal heat, and has been isolated from the rest of the world for millennia. The ice cores containing the specimens were up to 400,000 years old. This organism, nicknamed "klingon", may be new to science. Because of the rare living conditions of this organism, scientist are rethinking the possibilities of life in other places in the universe like Europa, Jupiter's moon, or the Martian ice caps. Magnification: x4500.