Deep Samples No One Has Seen

　 These deep samples were retrieved during a fantastic mission recently completed on the CHIKYU (Expedition 337), with an international team led by Dr. Fumio Inagaki of JAMSTEC and Prof. Kai-Uwe Hinrichs at the University of Bremen, Germany. Off the Northeastern coast of Japan, this group successfully retrieved biological samples from down to 2,466 meters below the sediment water interface – a new world record of scientific ocean drilling. These samples were initially analyzed in the laboratories on board, defining the physical, chemical, and geological nature of more than 2 km of the subsurface, and revealing the presence of life, both past and present, throughout the core. I had the pleasure of being on board to see the initiation of this work that has been several years in planning and implementation, and to begin planning for sending samples and information to the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego and Washington D.C., where I work. There we will participate by analyzing the DNA and RNA that will be extracted from these deep core samples. During my short stay on board, I couldn’t help but think that history was being made – it was now possible to look directly at samples that no one has seen, and begin to understand the relationship of this life to the rest of the planet.

　 You might ask, “Why go to such trouble and expense to find life in such a rare place? This is a fair question, and one that has a number of compelling answers. First and foremost, this is discovery at its best. Who’s there? Are these microbes we already know about, or do they represent new microbes capable of doing things differently, and surviving where it seems it should be impossible? Second, how are they making a living in this very challenging environment? Can they teach us new metabolic “tricks” that we can use to understand life on Earth, and even enlarge the areas in which we might look for life elsewhere? Will they have abilities we can exploit for industrial or medical purposes? The questions go on, ranging from identifying potential geological settings for CO2 burial to understanding economic resources in the deep subsurface. You can be sure of one thing – this magnificent ship, with its skilled staff and outstanding scientists was a pleasure to visit, and can be counted on to yield a great harvest of exciting scientific discoveries in the coming years.

　You might ask, “Why go to such trouble and expense to find life in such a rare place? This is a fair question, and one that has a number of compelling answers. First and foremost, this is discovery at its best. Who’s there? Are these microbes we already know about, or do they represent new microbes capable of doing things differently, and surviving where it seems it should be impossible? Second, how are they making a living in this very challenging environment? Can they teach us new metabolic “tricks” that we can use to understand life on Earth, and even enlarge the areas in which we might look for life elsewhere? Will they have abilities we can exploit for industrial or medical purposes? The questions go on, ranging from identifying potential geological settings for CO2 burial to understanding economic resources in the deep subsurface. You can be sure of one thing – this magnificent ship, with its skilled staff and outstanding scientists was a pleasure to visit, and can be counted on to yield a great harvest of exciting scientific discoveries in the coming years.