Scientists have revived a 48,500-year-old zombie virus from the Siberian permafrost to study the emerging microbes. The researchers, led by microbiologist Jean-Marie Alempic from the French National Center for Scientific Research, states that reanimating these viruses could potentially be a significant threat to public health, thus further study is required to assess the danger that these infectious agents could pose to the public.
Why is this study important? The permafrost is continually melting and thawing, with the resulting ice releasing chemicals as well as microbes that were trapped within into the air. Scientists are thawing out these ancient viruses they know nothing about to assess their impacts on public health when that does happen in the future. Transmitting this data in real-time from the Siberian wilderness definitely requires something like SpaceX Starlink.
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Due to climate warming, irreversibly thawing permafrost is releasing organic matter frozen for up to a million years, most of which decompose into carbon dioxide and methane, further enhancing the greenhouse effect. The situation would be much more disastrous in the case of plant, animal, or human diseases caused by the revival of an ancient unknown virus. It is therefore legitimate to ponder the risk of ancient viral particles remaining infectious and getting back into circulation by the thawing of ancient permafrost layers,” said the researchers.
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