Worm Revived After 46K Years in Siberian Permafrost

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Facts

  • According to a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics on Thursday, a team of researchers has revived a millimeter-long roundworm, or nematode, frozen for 46K years in Siberian permafrost.1
  • The roundworm was reportedly pulled out from 40 meters (131.2 feet) below the surface in the Siberian permafrost, where researchers claim it stayed frozen by entering a dormant state called cryptobiosis.2
  • Scientists say organisms in a cryptobiotic state can reduce their metabolism to an undetectable level to withstand life-threatening conditions, such as a lack of water and oxygen or extremely hot and cold temperatures.2
  • By very slowly and gently thawing the roundworm, researchers reanimated it enough to wriggle around, eat, and reproduce parthenogenetically, or asexually.3
  • The age of the previously unknown roundworm was calculated by radiocarbon dating its plant matter found in the permafrost. The researchers have now dubbed it Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, after the Kolyma River in Russia, where they were discovered.4
  • The study builds on prior research published in 2018 when researchers revived two types of microscopic nematodes — Panagrolaimus and Plectus — estimated to be 42K years old.5

Sources: 1New York Times, 2CNN, 3Global News, 4Smithsonian Magazine, and 5Livescience.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. This scientific breakthrough could reveal secrets of the cryptobiosis process various organisms use to stay dormant or suspend life over geological time scales. Understanding how these species adapted to the extremities through evolution could one day lead to improved conservation efforts for endangered species, especially in the face of global warming and record-breaking heat.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Forbes. As climate change warms the Earth's permafrost, just as the nematode — which was supposed to have frozen in Siberian permafrost when Neanderthals still walked the Earth — was revived, more dangerous pathogens frozen for millennia could also emerge from melting ice, evolve when released in the modern world, cause diseases that modern humans lack immunity to, and wreak havoc on ecosystems.

Predictions