Worms frozen in permafrost for 42,000 years have come back to life and are eating

Slash Gear ^ | Jul 27, 2018 | Shane McGlaun

[Heartlander]

Worms frozen in permafrost for 42,000 years have come back to life and are eating

Shane McGlaun - Jul 27, 2018

Scientists have made a discovery that is quite mind-blowing. Roundworms found in the permafrost in two areas of Siberia have come back to life in Petri dishes. These worms had been frozen in the permafrost for tens of thousands of years, since the Pleistocene age. Scientists working on the research say that 300 prehistoric worms were analyzed and that these two were shown to contain viable nematodes.

The nematodes showed signs of life after being defrosted. Scientists say the worms started moving and then eating again. One of the worms was discovered in an ancient squirrel burrow in the wall of the Duvanny Yar outcrop in the lower reaches of the Kolyma River. That worm is 32,000 years old.

The other worm was found in the permafrost near Alazeya River in 2015 and is about 41,700 years old. These two nematodes are the oldest living animals on the planet and both are believed to be female. The worms came back to life in a lab at The Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science.

Scientists say that the ability of the worms to survive tens of thousands of years in cryobiosis under natural conditions of cryoconservation could be a boon to science. These nematodes could have adaptive mechanisms that could be of value in science for things like cryomedicine, cryobiology, and astrobiology.

There were multiple institutions involved in the research including The Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science; Moscow State University; Pertsov White Sea Biological Station, part of Moscow State University; the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, and Princeton University Department of Geosciences. This reminds me of John Carpenter’s movie “The Thing.”

[Larry Lucido]

Well, I’m glad they have an appetite.

[TheZMan]

That’s mind blowing.

[Moonman62]

These two nematodes are the oldest living animals on the planet and both are believed to be female.

...

So was Helen Thomas. Coincidence?

[caver]

How do they know the worms are 42,000 years old?

[Red Badger]

[cuban leaf]

So was Helen Thomas. Coincidence?

---

I think not!

[Red Badger]

... the oldest [KNOWN] living animals on the planet .....

[xrmusn]

How do they know the worms are 42,000 years old?
= = = = = = = = =

Unlike BO, they have documented Birth Certificates.

[Larry Lucido]

I don't know but one is already in a courtroom.

[Red Badger]

Their Hawaiian Birth Certificates...................

[CIB-173RDABN]

Wasn’t this a bad sci-fi movie in the 1950s?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Tonight's feature on Monster Chiller Horror Theater is The Man-Eating Prehistoric Worms That Came Back from the Dead starring Nick Adams, Katherine Victor, Wilfried Hyde-White and Zongo the Wonder Dog.

[madison10]

Not good.

[Moonman62]

There’s still hope for Ted Williams.

[KarlInOhio]

Welcome to Nematode Park.

[dfwgator]

“.....and the worms ate into his brain.”

[bramps]

Well, I’m glad they have an appetite.

..........................

After 32,000 years you also don’t want to start off with anything too heavy, maybe just something like soup for the first few weeks.

[WKUHilltopper]

How are they for bass and catfish?

[Larry Lucido]

They might have been frozen for a reason. Watch for anti-social behavior among the newly unfrozen.