‘Zombie’ virus revived after 50,000 years trapped in Siberian permafrost
Global News
The study's authors discovered 13 never-before-seen viruses that have been lying dormant, frozen in ice, over tens of thousands of years.
Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research have revived more than a dozen prehistoric viruses that were previously trapped deep within the Siberian permafrost, according to a pre-print study.
From seven ancient permafrost samples, scientists were able to document 13 never-before-seen viruses that have been lying dormant, frozen in ice, over tens of thousands of years.
In 2014, the same researchers unearthed a 30,000-year-old virus trapped in permafrost, the BBC reported. The discovery was groundbreaking because after all that time, the virus was still able to infect organisms. But now, they’ve beaten their own record by reviving a virus that is 48,500 years old.
The ancient virus was given the name Pandoravirus yedoma, which acknowledges its size and the type of permafrost soil that it was found in, according to Science Alert.
Scientists are thawing out these ancient viruses in order to study their impacts on public health. As the permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, melts in the Northern Hemisphere, the thawing ice releases tons of trapped chemicals and microbes.
“Due to climate warming, irreversibly thawing permafrost is releasing organic matter frozen for up to a million years, most of which decomposes into carbon dioxide and methane, further enhancing the greenhouse effect,” the study’s authors wrote. “Part of this organic matter also consists of revived cellular microbes (prokaryotes, unicellular eukaryotes) as well as viruses that remained dormant since prehistorical times.”
Some of these “zombie viruses” could potentially be dangerous to humans, the authors warn. And, in fact, thawing permafrost has already claimed human lives.
In 2016, one child died and dozens of people were hospitalized after an anthrax outbreak in Siberia. Officials believe the outbreak started because a heat wave thawed the permafrost and unearthed a reindeer carcass infected with anthrax decades ago. About 2,300 reindeer died in the outbreak.
The report was released by the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union and is based on feedback from crews and other staff involved in the wildfire fight.
Opponents of coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains have some sharp criticism for Alberta's UCP government after being told to resubmit their citizens petition.
Three children in Ontario have died from influenza A-related complications since the start of December, health officials said Monday.
The company that operates the Trans Mountain pipeline has paid a $196,000 fine for environmental lapses along its B.C. pipeline route in the aftermath of a massive Jan. 2024 storm.
Alberta's provincial government has announced the creation of three new all-season resort areas that it claims could generate thousands of jobs and billions in economic benefits.
Corb Lund says he's seeking the intervention as new coal mines could threaten land and water on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and affect the Prairies downstream.
Officers had recently captured four grizzly bears, but forensic results came back to confirm that none of the bears, an adult female and three young, were linked to the attack.
The research recommends occipital nerve blocks should be offered in emergency rooms to treat acute migraine attacks.
A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.
Darlene Hensch, who once struggled with unexplained infertility, is now expecting quadruplets and preparing for a high-risk delivery and life-changing journey.
Negotiations that could have led to coverage for weight-loss drug Wegovy under Canadian public health plans are not moving forward.
They've been married for 55 years, but for most of that time, something has been missing from Janet and Robert Cockwill's life, until their grandson made a remarkable discovery.
NDP interim leader Don Davies said the government's response to a commissioned report on the program was 'shockingly dismissive,' and the health minister has not committed to act.