Nematodes relaunched as Siberian permafrost thaws



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They are in animation suspended since 42 000 years. But they are never dead

Nematodes

These are microscopic roundworms – no more than 1 mm in length – that thrive in the soil.

They are an essential component of any ecological system.

No activity since the Pleistocene – an age of mammoths, marsupial lions and lazy giants

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The May edition of Doklady Biological Sciences reports two species of nematodes were revived – the first evidence that such a thing was possible for multicellular life.

Nematodes are not normal creatures, however.

Some can be found thriving up to 1.3 km below the surface of the Earth.

They are also very adaptive

In this case, Russian scientists recovered a sample of nematodes kept in a frozen squirrel burrow in the Alazeya River region, Yakutia, Russia. It was abandoned 32,000 years ago. Another sample was taken from the Kolyma River area of ​​Siberia. It has been dated to 42,000 years ago.

They were transported in temperature-controlled petri dishes and taken to a laboratory. The nematodes were separated from the soil and gently thawed for several weeks.

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Next, the researchers saw them move and eat. 19659003] According to the study, it is the first evidence of "natural cryopreservation" of multicellular life.

"It is evident that this ability suggests that the Pleistocene nematodes have mechanisms of adaptation that may have scientific and practical significance for the" The Pleistocene was an era that supported many glacial ages between 2.6millioni and 11,700 years ago.

And this is not the first time something that

A 30,000-year-old giant virus found in Siberian permafrost has also been revived after being thawed.

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