More than 24 thousand years ago, rotifer worms were frozen in the east of Yakutia. Today scientists have been able to bring them back to life.
As noted by one of the authors of the study, so far this is “the most reliable evidence that multicellular living things can live tens of thousands of years in a state where their metabolism stops almost completely.”
Rotifers can tolerate frost, “drying themselves”. Scientists wondered how long the worms can remain viable in this state. The rotifer was found in permafrost samples collected at a depth of 3.5 meters off the banks of the East Yakutsk Alazeya River. The worms were then propagated in the laboratory. The “resurrected” rotifers were even able to endure a second freeze.
Researchers want to understand the defense mechanism of ancient worms so that they can be used to protect human tissue from frost.
Credit image used for decoration: EA Mnatsakanova
Read also:
Global warming on Earth was underestimated
The doctor told which people should give up kvass
Spanish woman sentenced to prison for installing pirated Windows and Office
Found a scientific way to quit smoking and not gain weight
Mysterious Russian fighter jet was appreciated in the United States
