The Facts
According to a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics on Thursday, a team of researchers has revived a millimeter-long roundworm, or nematode, frozen for 46K years in Siberian permafrost.
The roundworm was reportedly pulled out from 40 meters (131.2 feet) below the surface in the Siberian permafrost, where researchers claim it stayed frozen by entering a dormant state called cryptobiosis.
The Spin
Narrative A
This scientific breakthrough could reveal secrets of the cryptobiosis process various organisms use to stay dormant or suspend life over geological time scales. Understanding how these species adapted to the extremities through evolution could one day lead to improved conservation efforts for endangered species, especially in the face of global warming and record-breaking heat.
Narrative B
As climate change warms the Earth's permafrost, just as the nematode — which was supposed to have frozen in Siberian permafrost when Neanderthals still walked the Earth — was revived, more dangerous pathogens frozen for millennia could also emerge from melting ice, evolve when released in the modern world, cause diseases that modern humans lack immunity to, and wreak havoc on ecosystems.
