Scientists say that they revived frozen worms with 42,000 years

A group of Russian scientists managed to revive a pair of frozen earthworms that are now between 30,000 and 42,000 years old. The researchers say this will help to understand how various species can survive in extreme environments.

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After so long, they still live … and eat …

These earthworms are obviously very old and come from the Pleistocene geological period that began 2.6 millions of years and ended only 12,000 years ago. So, these little creatures shared planet Earth with the first humans.

One of the earthworms was discovered in a soil sample collected by scientists at about 30 meters deep and the second organism of the species was found in the middle of a field, which remains permanently frozen, 3 meters from the surface.

<img src = "https://pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verme1-720×405.jpg" alt = "Verme" width = "720" height = "405" class -type wp-image-527756 aligncenter "srcset =" https: / / / / jpg 150w, https://pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verme1-768×432.jpg 768w, https: //pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ Verme1-1024×576.jpg 1024w, https://pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verme1-345×194.jpg 345w, https://pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/ 2018/07 / Verme1-50×28.jpg 50w, https://pplware.sapo.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verme1 After the collection, the worms were kept at a temperature of -20 degrees C. Subsequently, after being isolated, the worms were placed in an environment at 20 degrees Celsius and the food was placed around them.After a few weeks of observation, they began to show signs of life.Scientists were able to show that multicellula organisms They can survive for long periods in a state of natural cryopreservation (freezing).

Protecting contemporary organisms …

Theoretically, it is possible that, protected from physical damage during the period when they were frozen, organisms could overcome thawing and live long

. , one of the main dangers is the potential contamination of earthworms with contemporary organisms. The researchers state that they use all the indicated procedures and are excited about this opportunity to understand how worms have evolved to the present day.