"It may sound like the start of a horror film, but ancient infectious lifeforms are being brought back to life. These tiny bugs, invisible to the naked eye, have been trapped in 'permafrost' - frozen earth material containing soil, rock and ice. In controlled experiments, the scientists discovered that if you thaw out permafrost, the microbes don't immediately become active. But after a few months, like waking up after a long nap, they begin to form flourishing colonies."
"For their experiments, the team travelled from Colorado to the Permafrost Research Tunnel near Fairbanks in Alaska, just south of the Arctic Circle. Worryingly, the microbes have the potential to unleash dangerous pathogens that could spark the next pandemic. 'These are not dead samples by any means,' warned study author Dr Tristan Caro, a geological scientist at University of Colorado Boulder. What's more, as they reawaken, the microorganisms release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that fuels global warming."
Scientists resurrected microorganisms preserved in Alaskan permafrost for around 40,000 years. Permafrost samples from a research tunnel near Fairbanks were rehydrated and incubated at 3°C and 12°C to simulate summer and future warming conditions. Microbes did not become immediately active after thawing but began forming colonies after several months. Reactivated microorganisms released carbon dioxide during reawakening. Some revived microbes carry the potential to unleash dangerous pathogens, though they likely could not infect people in current experiments. Permafrost underlies nearly a quarter of northern hemisphere land, and deeper thawing could mobilize ancient microbial life.
Read at Mail Online
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