25 November 2022 at 09:39 Virus types from the permafrost in Siberia are revived in a laboratory A 48,500-year-old virus that has been lying in permafrost has been revived in a laboratory. The purpose is to find what awaits us if the permafrost thaws. The 48,500-year-old virus was retrieved from a depth of 16 meters in a lake in the Sakha Republic in Russia. The French researchers have altogether managed to characterize 13 different viruses. The danger is that when the vast permafrost in Siberia eventually thaws, deadly diseases that are now extinct could return. The viruses are still in the frost, and the researchers are trying to find out if there is still life in them. – If the viruses of the past remain infectious after being frozen for such a long time, other types will also be, says Jean-Michael Claverie to the journal New Scientist. Claverie is one of the study’s authors. The viruses they present infect unicellular organisms, but as they still have the ability to infect cells, the researchers believe that this says something about other virus types. (NTB)
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