A paper published in the top academic journal Cell on Monday (June 7th) shows that Russian scientists have successfully revived a kind of "rotifer" from microbial samples obtained from frozen soil, and according to the determination of carbon 14, this microorganism has a history of at least 24,000 years!
This microorganism comes from the permafrost in the middle reaches of the Arazeya River in Yakutia, Siberia, Far East. It is a treasure house of prehistoric species in the world, because it is the frozen soil core area accounting for 25% of the northern hemisphere, where countless prehistoric animals have been found!
Whenever scientists dig up these prehistoric animals, they are always as happy as a festival, because for biologists, they will be able to rebuild, because this will expand the gene pool of biologists, trace the evolution and transformation of species, and of course, even rebuild the vegetation and climate at that time according to stomach contents and microorganisms!
One of the researchers, Stass Maravin, called the work impressive:
In 20 18, Russian scientists revived a nematode from samples obtained from Siberian permafrost, which was once ridiculed by many friends that they were only hibernating, but in fact, without the support of experimental equipment, it was quite difficult for this creature to revive, and relatively low-level bacteria and viruses were completely excluded. It seems that their "vitality" is much stronger!
On August 1 2065438, a mysterious anthrax epidemic broke out in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region of Russia, resulting in the death of a boy, the infection of dozens of people and the death of 2,300 reindeer. The last anthrax epidemic in Siberia was in 194 1! It has been more than 70 years, and everyone has long forgotten it!
In everyone's impression, the anthrax epidemic seems to only appear in terrorist attacks or movies, but Nenets Autonomous Region suddenly happened! After investigation by the local CDC, it is believed that the high temperature in the previous month should have caused the animals on the tundra to die early because of the anthrax epidemic. Reindeer may have eaten nearby grass or drunk polluted water!
Earlier, it was reported that in July, 2065438+2006, the weather in the far north of Russia was very hot, with the highest temperature reaching 35 degrees Celsius. Alexei Kokorin, head of the Russian climate and energy project of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), explained that the unusually high temperature in this area is extremely rare, which is probably the result of climate change.
The spores of Bacillus anthracis are extremely tenacious, and they will not die after boiling water for more than ten minutes, but they can almost remain dormant in frozen animals until the conditions are right, so this terrible bacteria may be in many corners of the frozen soil, depending on God's mood!
Rotifers resurrected by Russian scientists are parthenogenetic creatures. After their resurrection, they have propagated for several generations. Under normal circumstances, each generation can survive for two weeks. This microorganism will stop metabolism at low temperature and accumulate certain compounds, which can help them survive in harsh conditions and then come back to life again.
Russian scientists say that this mechanism of low-temperature survival and restoration after resurrection may be applied to human beings in the future and may benefit mankind one day!
More and more animals are found in permafrost. Is it time for mankind to reflect?
Many people object to scientists holding such research, because the topic of ancient microorganisms and modern environment has been worrying. Due to global warming, animals found in the permafrost can use the train Pyrah. With the ban on the global ivory trade, diggers in Siberia, Alaska and Nuut are booming, because mammoth ivory is unrestricted!
Therefore, more and more ancient animals have been unearthed in recent years, and the incomplete statistics of florists are as follows:
And more mammoths, of course, many didn't inform scientists at all, because everyone's purpose is to dig ivory! So in so many prehistoric creatures, which one has prehistoric superbacteria or viruses that destroy human beings? With global warming, more animal carcasses will be exposed in the wilderness. One day, there may really be a virus that infects humans in "I am a Legend"!