Frozen roundworms brought back to life 42,000 years later

Two nematodes – or roundworms – came back to life after being frozen in Arctic permafrost for 42,000 years, setting a record for survival time in cryogenic conservation. A team of Russian scientists working with Princeton University has thawed more than 300 prehistoric worms from the ice age.

The team said that two of the females "showed signs of life" and that they move and eat again. Roundworms from two regions of Siberia have returned to life in petri dishes after being left for several weeks at a relatively warm 20 degrees Celsius

"We have obtained the first data demonstrating the ability of multicellular organisms to long-term cryobioscence in permafrost, adding that the data also showed the "ability of multicellular organisms to survive long-term cryoconiosis (tens of thousands of years) under natural cryopreservation conditions"

The report, published in Doklady Biological Sciences, adds: "It is evident that this ability suggests that Pleistocene nematodes have mechanisms of adaptation that may be of scientific and practical importance for related scientific fields, such as cryomedicine. cryobiology and astrobiology. "

One of the two worms that came alive belonged to a former squirrel terrier in a permafrost wall. The outcrop of Duvanny Yar lies in the lower reaches of the river Kolyma, near the Pleistocene Park site.The other was found in the permafrost near the Alazeya River in 2015 and is about 41 700 years old.

Currently, nematodes are the oldest living animals of The Planet

Scientists have said that studying the mechanisms that allowed these two worms to survive could change many theories about where extraterrestrial life might exist.

Russian institutions involved in research pioneering included the Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science; Moscow State University; Biological Station of the White Sea of ​​Pertsov, part of the State University from Moscow, and l & # 39; Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Roundworms are known to be hardy creatures and have been revived in 39-year-old herbarium samples, but this is a surprising new discovery. According to Science Alert, tardigrade, which are closely related to roundworms, are also known for their ability to survive extreme conditions. They can repair the broken DNA and produce a vitrifying material when they dry out.