of soil was frozen for 116,000 years. it was here in north eastern siberia that the extraordinary discovery was made. dna analysis, identifying a new type of nematode or roundworm that had been dormant since the late ice age. an astonishing example of what scientists call crypto bioscience. that s where an organism suspends its own metabolism in extreme conditions. but if this worm has effectively been frozen in time for millennia, could it be carrying some ancient disease or infection? it s something that s possible. and with covid, we all saw what can happen very suddenly. but i wouldn t say this like an imminent danger of these worms bringing some bacteria that suddenly start killing humans. scientists hope that studying organisms that can adapt to difficult and extreme conditions might help us preserve other endangered species. protecting the future. with a little help
Science News: Frozen over 46,000 years ago in the Siberian permafrost, a previously unknown species of roundworm has been revived by a team of scientists in Germany
The revival of this ancient roundworm species highlights the resilience of life and the significance of preserving biodiversity in the face of a rapidly changing world.
In the early 1990s, scientists who were studying the development of a roundworm identified a small RNA molecule that regulated the expression of specific genes.