Scientists Breathe Life Into 48,500-Year-Old 'Zombie Virus' Found Frozen In Siberia

Scientists Breathe Life Into 48,500-Year-Old 'Zombie Virus' Found Frozen In Siberia

By Urja Kalyani

- 13 new viruses have been identified from Siberian permafrost
- All 13 of them are different from each other genetically
- The record-breaking virus, Pandoravirus yedoma, was found under a lake

No, this is not science fiction. Scientists have revived eons old 'zombie viruses' from the Siberian permafrost.

Out of the 13 new viruses that have been identified, the oldest is a 48,500-year-old amoeba virus, according to the findings posted by researchers in the pre-print server bioRxiv.

"48,500 years is a world record," Jean-Michel Claverie, co-author and a professor of genomics and bioinformatics at Aix-Marseille University's School of Medicine, told New Scientist.

Researchers warned it may just be the tip of the iceberg, adding that continued global warming will thaw the Siberian permafrost to reveal nastily pathogens from melting organic matter.

"One-quarter of the Northern Hemisphere is underlain by permanently frozen ground, referred to as permafrost," researchers wrote in the paper. "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."

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