<
https://theconversation.com/pandoravirus-the-melting-arctic-is-releasing-ancient-germs-how-worried-should-we-be-195501>
"Scientists have recently revived several large viruses that had been buried in
the frozen Siberian ground (permafrost) for tens of thousands of years.
The youngest virus to be revived was a sprightly 27,000 years old. And the
oldest – a
Pandoravirus – was around 48,500 years old. This is the oldest
virus ever to have been revived.
As the world continues to warm, the thawing permafrost is releasing organic
matter that has been frozen for millennia, including bacteria and viruses –
some that can still reproduce.
This latest work was by a group of scientists from France, Germany and Russia;
they managed to reanimate 13 viruses – with such exotic names as
Pandoravirus
and
Pacmanvirus – drawn from seven samples of Siberian permafrost.
Assuming that the samples were not contaminated during extraction (always
difficult to guarantee) these would indeed represent viable viruses that had
previously only replicated tens of thousands of years ago."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
