General Category > Archaeology

Scientists have revived a 'zombie' virus that spent 48,500 years frozen in permafrost

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Timber Rattler:
What could go wrong?

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/03/08/world/permafrost-virus-risk-climate-scn/index.html


--- Quote ---Warmer temperatures in the Arctic are thawing the region's permafrost — a frozen layer of soil beneath the ground — and potentially stirring viruses that, after lying dormant for tens of thousands of years, could endanger animal and human health.

While a pandemic unleashed by a disease from the distant past sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie, scientists warn that the risks, though low, are underappreciated. Chemical and radioactive waste that dates back to the Cold War, which has the potential to harm wildlife and disrupt ecosystems, may also be released during thaws.

"There's a lot going on with the permafrost that is of concern, and (it) really shows why it's super important that we keep as much of the permafrost frozen as possible," said Kimberley Miner, a climate scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.

Permafrost covers a fifth of the Northern Hemisphere, having underpinned the Arctic tundra and boreal forests of Alaska, Canada and Russia for millennia. It serves as a kind of time capsule, preserving — in addition to ancient viruses — the mummified remains of a number of extinct animals that scientist have been able to unearth and study in recent years, including two cave lion cubs and a woolly rhino.

The reason permafrost is a good storage medium isn't just because it's cold; it's an oxygen-free environment that light doesn't penetrate. But current day Arctic temperatures are warming up to four times faster than the rest of the planet, weakening the top layer of permafrost in the region.

To better understand the risks posed by frozen viruses, Jean-Michel Claverie, an Emeritus professor of medicine and genomics at the Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine in Marseille, France, has tested earth samples taken from Siberian permafrost to see whether any viral particles contained therein are still infectious. He's in search of what he describes as "zombie viruses" — and he has found some.
--- End quote ---

Smokin Joe:

--- Quote ---There's a lot going on with the permafrost that is of concern, and (it) really shows why it's super important that we keep as much of the permafrost frozen as possible
--- End quote ---

Then why not keep your toasty little tootsies off the permafrost and leave the frozen stuff up there the hell alone. Someone had to go and get this stuff and thaw it out...

Ghost Bear:
I'm beginning to think that "scientists" just want to kill us all.

Smokin Joe:

--- Quote from: Ghost Bear on March 09, 2023, 01:18:16 am ---I'm beginning to think that "scientists" just want to kill us all.

--- End quote ---
Just one step closer to world domination...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOKh3odS4U&t=51s

Kamaji:
The only way a zombie virus from the permafrost is going to unleash a pandemic without plenty of forewarning is if it’s subjected to gain-of-function experimentation before it gets loose.

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