Now this giant virus has been freed from its shackles

Permafrost holds an incredible amount of organisms and non-organisms inside.

Three hundred centuries after being frozen in the permafrost of Siberian soil, a virus emerged known as… Beto virus He manages to infect his microscopic victims again. Thus, the melting of the permanent ice cap in Siberia once again gives us an impressive surprise after a 45,000-year-old worm is still alive after thousands of years.

Now, a giant virus has awakened from permafrost in Siberia and is being carried by scientists A decade of exploring its capabilities.

Thus, this challenges even the way we humans understand time. While geological processes are measured in thousands and millions of years, human history is relatively short, so the idea that other organisms are able to survive unchanged for thousands of years is something that surprises us. Even if we’re trying to figure out ways to put life on hold.

A virus that has been frozen for 30,000 years

According to a study in With people In 2013, a French team was able to revive a giant virus that had been frozen for more than 30,000 years. The team achieved Reviving a plant that has been frozen for a similar periodSo they set out to try to “revive” the virus that Russian researchers had discovered a decade earlier in Siberia.

After several months of research, it was done Pithovirus sibericum virus He was revived and showed absolutely amazing abilities. To start with, it is One of the largest viruses in the world They are 1.5 microns in length and 0.5 microns in diameter. But the really strange thing is that it was They feed on amoeba It devoured about 300 of them, parasitized them and then devoured the proteins in their hearts.

Giant viruses are not a phenomenon unknown to humans. There are many and very diverse. They usually work this way because they need to grow Sufficient tools To parasitize cells that cannot. There are other viruses that are able to use some cell functions to their advantage, but this does not happen with this type of virus.

In any case, it is surprising What permafrost is capable of. stories Animals arise from nothing After being frozen for several thousand years.

In short, we can agree on the following:

• he Pithovirus It’s a giant virus that has been frozen for 30,000 years.
• In 2013, a group of scientists documented their discovery in Permafrost of the Siberian steppe. Although it was in the year 2000 when it was found by another group of researchers.
• This microorganism was a giant virus that scientists set out to revive.
• To do this, they used a series of amoebas as bait The virus devours her. Specifically, the virus was able to kill 300 amoeba.
• It’s a very large virus, practically like a large cell.