A new kind of ancient virus that sleeps 15,000 years ago is found in glaciers


by

Paolo Nicolello

More than 30 viruses have been reported to have been found in ice samples mined from glaciers that existed in the Tibetan Plateau in northwestern China for about 15,000 years. According to the research team, of the 33 types found in the samples, 28 were unknown viruses that had never been discovered.

Glacier ice archives fifteen-thousand-year-old viruses | bioRxiv
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.03.894675v1.full

Scientists Found Ancient, Never-Before-Seen Viruses in a Glacier-VICE
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkebx9/scientists-found-ancient-never-before-seen-viruses-in-a-glacier?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

A team of scientists from the United States and China visited the Tibetan Plateau in northwest China in 1992 and 2015, digging a 50-meter ice block called the Guliya ice cap and collecting samples.



Since both samples were contaminated in the outer layer, the research team cut off the sample about 5 mm from the outer layer, washed with ethanol and water, and exposed the completely uncontaminated ice layer. , And investigated the microorganisms inside.



The researchers found 33 viruses in two samples, 28 of which were new and unknown. It was also found that the type of microorganisms that slept inside the sample collected in 1992 and the sample collected in 2005 were significantly different. The researchers argue that the difference between the microorganisms in the two samples was attributed to 'climate differences in the age of the sampled ice.'

Chantal Abergel, an environmental virology researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, commented that `` it's not surprising '' that dozens of viruses had never been discovered before, saying, `` Humankind on earth It's far from complete coverage of the virus diversity in Japan. '

However, the researchers speculated that 'artificial climate change may make it harder to find ancient viruses sleeping in glaciers,' and the effects of warming could mean thousands of years or We fear that microorganisms and viruses that have been trapped for tens of thousands of years will melt out of glaciers around the world.



The researchers say, 'Microbes and viruses in glaciers can be a source of information on past global climate. However, climate change not only destroys glacier archives, but also worst-cases can cause unknown pathogens to thrive due to melting of glaciers. And may be released during the process. ' In fact, from melted permafrost Anthrax ( Tanso ) By bacteria occurs, the reindeer of more than 2000 animals were killed and that 96 people of the local residents were hospitalized news has been reported is, Bowling Green State University, Scott Rogers is an ancient microbiologist of the 'world As the melting of ice in them increases, so does the risk of pathogenic microbes becoming more prevalent. '

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