Wake the Lakes “Weird and Wacky Wednesday” 8-2-23

Frozen Worm Survived For 46,000 Years:
A species of roundworm found in Siberian permafrost and recently revived by scientists in a lab, has potentially survived over 46,000 years in suspended animation. Scientists resuscitated the nematode in 2018 and further research published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) Genetics journal shows through radiocarbon dating of the sample is how they determined its age. “It’s kind of super fascinating finally to suddenly see life, living animals crawling out of a piece of soil that has been deep frozen for 46,000 years,” Dr. Philipp Schiffer from the University of Cologne, told Reuters. The nematode was able to do so by entering into cryptobiosis, which is an organism’s ability to halt its metabolism in unfavorable conditions, like the extreme cold temperatures of Siberia. The findings suggest that drastic changes to the environment could feasibly cause the frozen worms to escape the ice and repopulate the species.