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July 28, 2018 – 10:49
The specialists have managed to revive ancestral nematodes that have remained frozen in Siberia for thousands of years. This achievement could help promote the development of cryotechnics and the preservation of organs and make an important contribution to future space travel.
Nematodes are a family of microscopic worms that encompbad more than 24,000 different species. A group of biologists from the Institute of Edaphology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow Lomonosov University found two species of these frozen animals in northern soil specimens. from Siberia. The age of the samples is estimated between 32 000 and 42 000 years
The researchers separated the nematode bodies from the soil samples and placed them in a container with a nutrient broth at a temperature of 20 ° C. After a short period of time, the small animals started to show signs of life.
"We received the first data demonstrating the ability of multicellular organisms for prolonged cryobidosis," the researchers reported. The development and results of this unprecedented achievement were published in the scientific journal Doklady Biological Sciences
The Specimens
The first sample, aged 32,000 years, contained the nematodes of the species Panagrolaimus. The specimen was found at a depth of 30 meters, in what is believed to be a cave that then collapsed. The second sample, 42,000 years old, was found only 3.5 meters deep and contained specimens of Plectus.
Scientists already knew that nematodes have very good survival abilities. Once they managed to "revive" some specimens found in 40-year-old dry leaves. "It is evident that the Pleistocene nematodes [de la era] have mechanisms of adaptation that may be of scientific and practical importance in many areas, such as cryomedicine, cryobiology. and astrobiology, "write the authors of the book
Expectations about the study
In particular, scientists believe that their study could be a significant contribution to future trips in the world. space. Faced with the need to cross vast cosmic distances, humanity will be forced to perform some type of anabiosis to survive the hundreds or even thousands of years that could last space travel.
However, biologists point out a potential danger of harbadment: some ancestral microorganisms could also survive freezing. If proper precautions are not taken, their "awakening" could lead to a global epidemiological catastrophe, as our immune systems may not be able to fight them.
Source: Sputnik Agency
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