Lake Vostok micro-organism. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a micro-organism (orange) discovered in ice from Lake Vostok, Antarctica. This freshwater lake is trapped under ice up to 4 kilometres thick, and may harbour 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. Lakes of water under ice are also thought to exist on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Magnification: x4500 when printed 10cm wide."