Research released Thursday detailed how scientists managed to revive a 46,000-year-old worm from Siberian permafrost.
The new nematode species of worm is thought to have entered a state of suspended metabolism the researchers called “cryptobiosis” in reaction to the growth of permafrost some time 46,000-year-ago, according to the study published in the journal PLOS Genetics. The previously-undescribed species has been given the name Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, and was revived successfully by the team.
But not all researchers are so convinced by the claims. Though he does believe that the worms could survive reanimation after 46,000 years, Brigham Young University biologist Byron Adams told Scientific American that “the authors haven’t done the work to show that the animals they have recovered are not simply surface contaminants.”
‘Zombie Virus’ Warning Issued By Scientists As Russian Ice Thaws | @DailyCaller https://t.co/A7reDE0SAI
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) November 28, 2022
Further research would be required to confirm the species is different from others found living in the permafrost at present. (RELATED: Scientists Revive ‘Zombie Virus’ That Infected Cells)
The researchers did, however, confirm they were capable of forcing the nematodes into a state of dormancy similar to cryptobiosis and then reanimate them. While others remain skeptical, the potential consequences of the research being accurate are significant.
“Our findings here are important for the understanding of evolutionary processes because generation times could be stretched from days to millennia, and long-term survival of individuals of species can lead to the refoundation of otherwise extinct lineages,” the authors wrote in the summary.