Scientists revive 46,000-year-old worm that was frozen in permafrost
Scientists were able to revive a 46,000-year-old species of worm that had been frozen in permafrost. The findings, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, detailed that these creatures "have developed the ability to enter a state of suspended metabolism called cryptobiosis when environmental conditions are unfavorable," which allows them to "suspend life over geological time scales."
The worm was discovered to be a species of nematode or roundworm called Panagrolaimus kolymaenis, and it was frozen in Siberian permafrost from the time of the woolly mammoths. The nematode remained in a state "between death and life," Teymuras Kurzchalia, professor emeritus at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, who co-authored the study told CNN. "One can halt life and then start it from the beginning. This a major finding."
Nematodes are notoriously resilient, known to survive for long periods of time in treacherous conditions like sub-zero temperatures, per NPR. The worm survived through a process called cryptobiosis, which allowed it to bring its metabolism down substantially and not require water or oxygen. However, "nobody had thought that this process could be for millennia, for 40,000 years — or even longer," Philipp Schiffer, a group leader at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Cologne and one of the study's authors, told NPR.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The worm was revived simply by rehydrating it. "The major take-home message or summary of this discovery is that it is, in principle, possible to stop life for more or less an indefinite time and then restart it," Kurzchalia told The New York Times. As climate change continues to raise temperatures, more permafrost may melt to reveal other creatures that have been dormant for thousands of years.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Without Cuba, US State Sponsors of Terrorism list shortens
The Explainer How the remaining three countries on the U.S. terrorism blacklist earned their spots
By David Faris Published
-
Crossword: January 21, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: January 21, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Blue Origin conducts 1st test flight of massive rocket
Speed Read The Jeff Bezos-founded space company conducted a mostly successful test flight of its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Talking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Florida has a sinking condo problem
UNDER THE RADAR Scientists are (cautiously) ringing the alarms over dozens of the Sunshine State's high-end high-rises
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abandoned mines pose hidden safety and environmental risks
Under the Radar People can be swallowed by sinkholes caused by these mines, and there are other risks too
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Diamonds could be a brilliant climate solution
Under the radar A girl and the climate's best friend
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published