Thirteen dormant viruses in permafrost have been found by a team of researchers; check out photos of the research and what you should know about zombie pathogens.
Research led by virologist Jean-Michel Claverie, 73, has discovered 13 types of zombie viruses in the permafrost. Dormant for at least 50,000 years, these pathogens currently live in a state of cryptobiosis in the frozen soil of Siberia, but global warming and the consequent melting of the glaciers could cause them to “come back to life”.
Where has a zombie virus been found?
The study led by Claverie found these pathogens in very deep areas of the Siberian permafrost, which is up to a kilometer deep. Although there is a risk of these zombie viruses infecting humans, the researchers indicate that there is no reason to panic for the time being – since they are in the frozen ground of a very sparsely populated region, the risk of exposure is very low.
It is also not known whether these frozen pathogens would survive today’s climatic conditions, nor whether they would be able to find a suitable host in which to reproduce. In an interview with O GLOBO, virologist Amilcar Tanuri, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), also said that “freezing keeps the viral genome stationary, with no accumulation of mutations”. It is therefore very unlikely that these zombie viruses will wake up stronger from the permafrost.
See below for photos of the zombie viruses and the research conducted by virologist Jean-Michel Claverie:
Zombie virus sample captured by microscope in the research lab
What are zombie viruses? Why do they have this name?
These zombie viruses are ancient viral pathogens that infected animals or amoebas thousands of years ago, and which have remained dormant but alive in the Earth’s permafrost.
Contrary to what you might think from the name, these pathogens do not cause zombie syndrome. The viruses found in the Siberian permafrost were called “zombies” because they are in a state of cryptobiosis, which happens when an organism ceases its biological activities in order to adapt to a very stressful situation – such as very low temperatures.
What is permafrost?
Permafrost is a strip of frozen ground in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. This surface is deepest in Siberia, the region of Russia where the dormant virus samples were found, but it also exists in Canada and Alaska.
What are the symptoms of zombie viruses?
Scientists still don’t know what the symptoms of these dormant viruses from terrestrial permafrost might be. For the time being, it is not even possible to confirm whether they can actually infect humans, as they may not be able to survive today’s climatic conditions.
It is important to note, however, that despite the low risk these viruses present at the moment, the research conducted to understand them can be risky. For this reason, at the beginning of October, the United States Agency for International Development abandoned a 125 million dollar study that sought to hunt down and understand dormant pathogens in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.