Categories: HealthNews

‘Zombie Virus’ from Siberian Permafrost After 50,000 Years

Climate change, resulting from multiple factors such as global warming, is giving rise to numerous catastrophic outcomes. Among these, the melting of Earth’s ice caps stands out. As glaciers and other icy regions thaw, long-frozen materials are being released, including a concerning occurrence in the Siberian permafrost. Scientists have successfully revived several “zombie viruses,” posing a significant danger to humanity.

Claverie, in a recent interview with the Observer, emphasized the essential aspect of permafrost: its cold, dark, and oxygen-deprived nature, which creates an ideal environment for the preservation of biological material. He further illustrated this point by stating that even a yoghurt placed in permafrost could potentially remain edible for an astonishing 50,000 years.

But there’s a noticeable transformation happening in the world’s permafrost. The upper layers of the Earth’s primary reserves, located in Canada, Siberia, and Alaska, are melting due to the Arctic being disproportionately affected by climate change. Meteorologists reveal that the region is warming up at a rate several times faster than the average global warming increase.

Alempic and his crew of scientists have identified 13 fresh viruses that were discovered in 7 distinct ancient Siberian permafrost samples. Among these 13 viruses, there is one particular virus that was unearthed beneath a lake in the permafrost area, and it happens to be a whopping 48,500 years old!

Science Alert journal review on zombie virus

As mentioned in the journal ‘Science Alert’ – “The situation would be much more disastrous in the case of plant, animal, or human diseases caused by the revival of an ancient unknown virus”.

The team demonstrated that these “zombie viruses” can still infect other organisms by using live single-cell amoeba cultures. This ancient virus, with a record age of nearly 50,000 years, has the potential to be an infectious pathogen.