Scientists Revive 48,500-year-old ‘Zombie Virus’ Buried in the Ice of Siberia

According to researchers, increasing global warming is causing climate change around the world, and it doesn’t seem to be resolving any time soon. Recently scientists revied around 2 dozen viruses including one zombie virus that is 48,500 years old found under a frozen lake in the Siberian region of Russia. 

“Zombie Virus” Found In Siberia, Russia

Scientists from Europe have analyzed some samples that were gathered from the permafrost near the Siberian region of Russia. Based on the examination they have categorized 13 new viruses of which one has been named “zombie virus”. This virus has been proven to be harmful and infectious even after being frozen for millions of years as per the report by Bloomberg.   

The ancient one named Pandoravirus Yedoma is said to be 48,500 years old. It has broken the record of the earlier oldest virus which was a 30,000-year-old found back in 2013. 

There have been many times when scientists have warned the defrosting of permafrost because of global warming will make things worse including a high risk of climate change. Degrading of permafrost will release the greenhouse gases such as methane that will affect the dormant pathogens. Something that is still not fully understood by the researchers. 

A team of experts from France, Russia, and Germany has said that the risk of reigniting the virus they have examined is “totally negligible”. They said that the virus is only capable of infecting small amoeba microbes.

“It is thus likely that ancient permafrost will release these unknown viruses upon thawing,” they wrote in an article posted to the preprint repository bioRxiv that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, the Bloomberg report added.