They resurrected a 48,500-year-old ‘zombie virus’ frozen in the Arctic: what is the purpose of the investigation?

Since scientists identified the first signs of temperature increase of the planet, the idea of ​​the consequences that could be generated before the possible melting of the poles grew. As a first step, the experts indicated a possible rise in sea level. But there was another aspect that alerted them even more: the possibility that “resurrected” a virus after being released from the permafrost (frozen ground). Now French scientists have succeeded “resurrect” about five families of viruses, all infective to single-celled amoebae, the oldest of which is almost 48,500 yearsas recorded by soil radiocarbon.

The truth is that this information is not new. The idea of ​​releasing a “prehistoric” virus by global warming and causing a pandemic appeared, even before the appearance of the COVID-19. This is why French scientists, after analyzing soil samples taken from Siberian permafrost, have identified viral particles that remain infectious. That is to say, they sought the so-called “zombie virus”.

Jean-Michel Claverie, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Genomics at the Faculty of Medicine of Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France, was responsible for analyzing these samples, which were taken from the permafrost, which spans one-fifth of the northern hemisphere and has been home to the Arctic tundra and boreal forests of Alaska, Canada and Russia.

This space, experts warn, behaves like a sort of time capsule which preserves both ancient pathogens and mummified extinct animals. In this direction, Kimberley Miner, climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the NASA, at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, explained to CNN that “there are a lot of things going on with the permafrost that are worrying, and it shows why it’s very important that we keep as much permafrost frozen as possible.”

The truth is that the Arctic has large areas of permafrost, which is a layer of permanently frozen ground It accumulates large amounts of carbon. Moreover, it is an environment without oxygen and the light does not filter at this depth, which is why it is “a very good preservative for microbes and viruses, because it is cold, it does not contain oxygen and it is dark”, explains Claverie de the University of Aix-Marseille, in France, when alerting to the emergence of a pandemic as a consequence of the increase in the temperature of the planet.

The field of study of the French scientist covers what is called “giant virus”, which can be seen using normal light microscopes. These pathogens, which Claverie first encountered in 2003They don’t need electron microscopes. Therefore, trying to “revive” them becomes a slightly “easier” process.

Moreover, already in 2014, the expert managed to “revive” a virus that he and his team had detected in the permafrost. At that time, thanks to his intervention, this pathogen became infectious again after 30 thousand years frozen. It should be clarified that, for safety reasons, the scientist only studies viruses capable of attacking unicellular amoebae, leaving out humans and animals.

After this first feat, in 2015 revived another virus that attacked the same creatures. However, in 2023 Was beyond. According to a recent investigation, published in the last days of February, after isolating “several strains of ancient viruses from several permafrost samples taken from seven different locations in Siberia”, they managed to “wake them up”. In this way, they managed to infect cultured amoeba cells.

“We see these amoeba-infecting viruses as surrogates for all other possible viruses that might be in permafrost,” Claverie explained, speaking to CNN, after finding that there are five new families of resurrected viruses, in addition to the previous two. Of these seven families, experts have identified that the oldest is almost 48,500 years and comes from a “soil sample taken from an underground lake 16 meters below the surface”. On the other hand, the youngest was identified in “the stomach and in the layer of the remains of a land mammoth” and had 27,000 years old.

Beyond these data, by looking at the amoebas, the expert fears that his research will not be taken into account. At the same time, he warned that this is an indication of a problem that could be much more serious, since others may arise and affect humanity. In this tone, he said: “We see the footprints many, many, many other viruses.

“We know they are there. We don’t know for sure if they are still alive. But our reasoning is that if the viruses that attack amoebas are still alive, there’s no reason other viruses shouldn’t still be alive and able to infect their own hosts.”

As Claverie warned, potentially dangerous pathogens for humans frozen in the permafrost have been identified. In recent years, scientists have been able to identify from influenza viruses corresponding to the time of the “spanish flu” to the strains of smallpox. They even warned of an epidemic of anthrax which affected humans and reindeer in 2016.

“If there’s a virus lurking in the permafrost that we haven’t come into contact with for thousands of years, it’s possible our immune defense is not enough“, he claimed Birgitta EvengardProfessor Emeritus in the Department of Clinical Microbiology at the University University of Umea, in Sweden. And he added: “It’s okay to have respect for the situation and to be proactive and not just reactive. And the way to fight fear is to have knowledge” because “our immune defense has developed in close contact with the microbiological environment”.

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