The viruses that have been lying dormant for thousands of years could emerge.
said the warmer conditions are causing part of the region’s permafrost, a frozen layer of soil that is beneath that surface, to thaw. One-fifth of the Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost.
Scientists said if the permafrost thaws significantly, some viruses described as “zombie viruses” that have been lying dormant for thousands of years could emerge and possibly endanger animals and humans.published in the journal Viruses, scientists isolated different strains of an ancient virus found in permafrost. The study showed that they could each infect cultured amoeba cells.
Out of an abundance of caution, scientists only studied a virus that had the potential to infect amoeba cells, not animals or humans. Since permafrost provides an oxygen-free environment that is not penetrated by light, scientists say it is like a time capsule of viruses and mummified remains of long-gone animals.
While scientists are hopeful that antibiotics would be able to fight ancient bacterial illnesses, they are concerned about what would happen if viruses were to spread.Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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