Giant zombie virus waking up from permafrost after 50,000 years, Details inside

While the world is moving past the tough times of the coronavirus, there is a new worry on the horizon. Scientists are studying something rather strange in Russia- Zombie virus. These are potential diseases that can survive in really cold places called ‘permafrost.’ They could be dangerous because people are deprived of immunity against these.

A professor named Jean-Michel Claverie from Aix Marseille University’s School of Medicine is researching this unusual zombie virus. He has been looking at the ‘giant’ viruses. Some of these have been found to be about 50,000 years old. These can be generally found deep in the frozen grounds of Siberia.

Why is this a concern?

Well, the planet is getting warmer, and scientists think that by the 2030s, the Arctic might not have ice during the summer. This could release gases like methane that are trapped in the ice. But what is even scarier is the possibility of ancient, dormant viruses waking up.

Claverie’s team found that the viruses they dug up from the Siberian permafrost were still able to make people sick.

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In an interview, Claverie said that usually when people think about climate change, they worry about problems coming from the South. For example, diseases from warm tropical areas. However, scientists are sensing that there could be new dangers from the north as well, because of the permafrost. It is releasing tiny life forms like microbes, bacteria, and viruses.

She further informed that all the ways these things can harm us are not known yet. However, there have been cases. For example, a heat wave in Siberia in 2016 woke up anthrax spores, making people sick and even causing deaths.

Another group of scientists discovered something really fascinating. They found a roundworm in the Siberian permafrost that had been frozen for about 46,000 years. When the scientists added water to it, the worm came back to life. This news is big because it shows that some creatures have the ability to pause their life processes and then restart them again later.

Governments and health organizations around the world have been keeping an eye out for new, unknown diseases. These are diseases that the human population is bit ready to fight against. They are trying to figure out how to stop or control an epidemic caused by these dangerous diseases.

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