Pulled from mud in the depths of a lake covered by ice in Antarctica, scientists believe they have found signs of ancient life, LiveScience reported.

The researchers, from the British Antarctic Survey and elsewhere, said studying the microbes found in such a harsh environment can help understand how various organisms survive and live in extreme conditions.

The team drilled deep into Lake Hodgson on the Antarctic Peninsula looking for clean sediment sample from its bottom, about 305 feet down.

Scientists believe thousands of years ago the lake was covered in ice at least 1,600 feet thick, but today it is relatively thin at 10 to 13 feet thick. The sediments the team recovered were apparently deposited when the lake was still covered in thick ice.

"It's the first time any subglacial lake sediment has been studied," study author David Pearce, who is now at the University of Northumbria, told LiveScience.

In the team's study, published Friday in the journal Diversity, they concluded some samples were possible a hundred thousand years old. Pearce said he and his colleagues grew 20 cultures of microbes, some of which suggest there is life in the harshest conditions of the lake. They also found fossilized DNA fragments, which suggest organisms adapted over time to the conditions.

After the discovery, Pearce said he would be surprised to learn that there is not signs of life in other similar locations. According to LiveScience, research teams are spreading out into the Antarctic to drill through the continent's many subglacial lakes.

"What would actually be surprising would be if we looked in these places and they were completely sterile," Pearce said.

The scientists believe understanding how the microbes lived and adapted to the extreme conditions will help understand how life originated on Earth and how it could (or has) on other planets. For example, not much is known about Jupiter's icy moon Europa, but this discovery can only help.

Further research is needed, Pearce said, acknowledging any species discovered will likely be brand new to the science community.

Said Pearce, "We can start to build a picture of what limits life in extreme conditions and then start thinking about what might limit life on other planets."