Prehistoric worms come back to life after 42,000 years of being frozen

Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-31 15:02:11|Editor: Liu
Video PlayerClose

MOSCOW, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have revived worms that have been frozen in Russian permafrost for nearly 42,000 years, local media reported.

The worms, known as nematodes or more commonly as roundworms, came from two samples found in Siberia. One sample, about 32,000 years old, was discovered in a glacial core taken from 30 meters below the surface of a permafrost deposit, while the other was isolated from a 3.5-meter-deep deposit dated at 41,700 years old.

The scientists from four Russian institutions, in collaboration with Princeton University of the United States, analyzed over 300 samples of Arctic permafrost deposits and found two that held several well-preserved nematodes.

The nematodes, after being removed from permafrost, were slowly thawed in petri dishes and kept at 20 degrees Celsius. They started showing signs of life, moving and eating after several weeks.

The worms, frozen at a time when much of Earth was covered in ice, become the oldest known living things on the planet by a wide margin.

"Our data demonstrate the ability of multicellular organisms to survive long-term (tens of thousands of years) cryobiosis under the conditions of natural cryoconservation," said the scientists to The Siberian Times.

The adaptive mechanisms of the worms may also be of scientific and practical importance for such fields as astrobiology, namely the search for extraterrestrial life, as well as cryomedicine and cryobiology - the study on how extremely low temperatures affect life, according to the scientists.

The study was published in the journal Doklady Biological Sciences in May, and became available online recently.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100851373592961
国产无码在线观看免费在线,37pao国产成视频,日韩一区二区视频在线,国产国产人免费人成免费视频麻豆
亚洲午夜一级在线观看 | 色婷婷亚洲一区二区三区 | 亚洲性爱免费视频网 | 又爽又猛又粗国产免费 | 亚洲欧洲日本欧美 | 最新国产精品久久精品 |