24,000-year-old frozen ‘zombie worm’ thawed by scientists — then it shockingly started reproducing
Scientists revived a 24,000-year-old 'zombie worm' frozen in Siberian permafrost, which resumed normal biological functions and reproduced asexually after thawing. The discovery provides insight into how life survives in extreme environments and has implications for fields like biotechnology and astrobiology.
Scientists successfully revived a 24,000-year-old 'zombie worm' frozen in Siberian permafrost. The microscopic organism, identified as a rotifer, resumed normal biological functions and reproduced asexually after being thawed under controlled laboratory conditions. The rotifer had been frozen since the Late Pleistocene era, and its survival is attributed to the Yedoma formation, an ice-rich permafrost that helped sustain it in a stable state. The phenomenon behind the rotifer's survival is cryptobiosis, a state of almost completely arrested metabolism. The discovery marks a major breakthrough for scientists, as it pushes the known limits of life on Earth and raises new questions about survival in extreme environments. The findings have implications for fields like biotechnology and astrobiology, but scientists caution that larger organisms, such as mammals, are unlikely to be revived after similar periods of freezing.
This content was automatically generated and/or translated by AI. It may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original sources for verification.