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To learn more about our privacy policy haga clic aquíIn 2023, scientists revived a 48,500-year-old "zombie virus" from Siberian permafrost—and it was still infectious. As climate change thaws frozen ground that’s been locked away for millennia,visit site could ancient plagues re-emerge and spark new pandemics?
Ancient microbes (viruses, bacteria) frozen for thousands of years.
Not actually undead—just dormant until thawed.
Already revived examples:
Pithovirus sibericum (30,000 years old, infects amoebas).
Mollivirus (still infectious after 30 millennia).
✔ Melting permafrost exposes buried carcasses (e.g., woolly mammoths with anthrax).
✔ Industrial drilling in the Arctic risks unleashing trapped pathogens.
✔ Case study: In 2016, a 75-year-old anthrax outbreak in Siberia resurfaced after permafrost thawed, killing a child and 2,300 reindeer.
✔ Most zombie viruses target amoebas or plants—for now.
✔ But unknowns remain:
Neanderthal-era pathogens might recognize human-like cells.
No immunity exists to diseases extinct for millennia.
A prehistoric supervirus jumps to humans (like a Paleolithic Ebola).
No vaccines or treatments are ready.
Global spread via modern travel networks.
✔ Arctic pathogen surveillance (labs now monitor thaw zones).
✔ Viral "Noah’s Ark" – Cataloguing frozen microbes to prep vaccines.
✔ Containment protocols for researchers handling samples.
Reviving smallpox from 18th-century mummies?
Lab leaks of resurrected plagues.
Final Thought: Climate change isn’t just melting ice—it’s defrosting prehistoric wildcards.**