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Scientists in a panic, the 48,500-year-old 'zombie' virus is discovered, the world is threatened with other pandemics
2023-03-09 18:03:03 / JETË
Warming temperatures in the Arctic are melting the permafrost there, potentially releasing a variety of viruses that have lain dormant for tens of thousands of years that could threaten the health of humans and animals on Earth.
Although the outbreak of such a pandemic sounds like a science fiction movie scenario, researchers say the risk remains, albeit low.
Chemical and radioactive waste that has been buried there since the Cold War also poses a danger.
"There's a lot going on down there, so it's important to keep these layers frozen as much as possible," says Kimberley Miner, a climate scientist at the California Institute of Technology.
The layer of frost, called permafrost, covers 20% of the Northern Hemisphere and extends from the boreal forests in Alaska to Canada and Russia.
Preserved unchanged for thousands of years, it serves as a "time travel machine," preserving ancient viruses and the mummies of now-extinct animals.
The reason why things are preserved so well in this layer is not only the cold, but also the fact that there is no oxygen and light does not penetrate. But as temperatures in the Arctic warm, the layer is weakening.
Jean-Michel Claverie, profesor i mjekësisë dhe gjenomeve në Universitetin “Aix-Marseille” të Francës, ka testuar kampionë toke nga permafrosti dhe ka gjetur aty viruse “zombi”.
Më të veçantët janë disa viruse të zbuluar fillimisht në vitin 2003.
Të njohur si viruse gjigante, ato janë shumë më të mëdha se viruset e zakonshme dhe shihen me mikroskopë të zakonshëm.
Në vitin 2014, profesori arriti të ringjallë një virus që qëndronte i ngrirë prej 30 mijë vitesh.
Për arsye sigurie, ky virus u zgjodh nga ato që infektonin vetëm amebat njëqelizore, jo kafshët apo njerëzit.
“Ringjallja” e fundit ishte ai i një virusi 48500-vjeçar, shifër kjo e konfirmuar nga analiza e tokës prej nga u nxor. Ai u nxor nga një thellësi prej 16 metrash.
Even though they have spent millennia under the ice, their ability to be infectious again opens up an even bigger problem, according to Claverie.
"These viruses can be carriers of all the other viruses that can be in the permafrost," he tells CNN.
"We have seen traces of many other viruses. We know they are there, even though we are not 100% sure they are still alive. But if the viruses that infect amoeba are alive, there's no reason why others shouldn't be."
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