The revival of an 8,000 year old bacterium that was freeze-dried in Antarctica is the subject of the original article. The master thesis of graduate school ecology student Doug Antibus was bringing back to life a live organism that was before the beginning of the human civilization.

Seven samples were examined by Antibus. The samples were dated with the use of radiocarbon dating and digital student microscopes. It was found out that one of the oldest samples is 28,000 years old.

The aim of his research, according to the original article was to find out if bacteria are present in the seven samples and if these bacteria have evolved compared to the present morphology and characteristics of present bacteria. Aside from this, Antibus also plans to study the bacteria’s (derived from the samples) response to heat and ultraviolet light. Digital student microscopes are ideal scientific equipment in studying the morphology and characteristics of bacteria. Other microscopic techniques like fluorescence and epifluorescence can be applied to the samples in order to have a more beautiful and graphic image of the bacteria taken from the sample.

The study will be advantageous on the study on life on Mars. By applying the same concepts, techniques and methods, they would be able to bring back to life organisms that were derived from planet samples in order to further study them. Digital student microscopes are useful in scientific studies such as this.

The planet Mars is somewhat similar to Earth in terms of rotational period, seasonal cycles, and some geographical features. Since liquid water cannot exist in the surface of Mars, water ice is abundant. The premise that life can be found everywhere can be verified when samples from the planet Mars will be studied for any signs of life. Just like in the thesis, an organism found in a sample, even dead, can be brought to life using the techniques used by Anibus.

The seven samples used in the study were collected from the sediment of bottom lakes. The lakes dried and were frozen instantly when it suddenly receded. It was theorized that the bacteria were last living when there was liquid present in the location. The bacteria have been dead for thousand of years, according to the original article. The samples were collected by a researcher named Brenda Hall who studied in the University of Maine . She collected the samples in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys . She was also studying geology upon the time of the collection.

Just like Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life, Antibus has revived a dead bacterium!  Antibus was successful in bringing back to life these organisms with the help of digital student microscopes. Digital student microscopes can be set-up to project images being viewed under the microscope into a projector or a computer screen.  Additional equipments like video cameras can be mounted into digital student microscopes.

Hopefully, more studies similar to this will be made so that more scientific methods and techniques can be made and perfected. Read more