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Genetic popsicle

Bacteria revived after 8 million years in the freezer

Microbes frozen in the oldest ice on Earth have been thawed out and brought back to life in the laboratory, providing new insights into how long living creatures can be frozen.

Read the story here.

Posted by Oliver Morton on August 7, 2007 05:49 PM |

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This conclusion only takes into account a sustained level of radiation proportional to the distance from the earth to the sun. Ambient deep space radiation levels would be much lower, effectively increasing the half life of DNA traveling within a comet. Also, temperatures in space would reach much lower levels than here on earth providing greater stability for frozen microbes.

Posted by: Jesse | August 7, 2007 10:09 PM

I don't know much about chemistry or science. However, the article did not state how damaged the DNA in the cell becomes in the oldest ice. Could it be possible that if the cell was damaged, it would still evolve into whatever being, however, limiting or slowing the being's evolution development since the DNA/cell was damaged?

Posted by: Julian | August 9, 2007 05:44 PM

This article is very, very interesting, as it manifests the possibility of transcending life and all the mysteries surrounding thereto through extreme time spaces. This might lead more to understanding how the human species evolved, and to possibly find a cure to centuries-old diseases and genetically-related dysfunctions. While the data may also be used to trace evolutions, the microorganisms will, for sure, serve as indespensable tools to view prehistoric life. Other possibilities might be to develop super-organisms as well as superhuman species that may, sadly, replace the existing ones. Scientists all over the globe must also join this scientific bandwagon, in the hope that the remaining unsearched and/or untouched areas will still offer the niche for unknown organisms that survived the calamities and the changing weather platform.

The only drawback that I see in the very near future is the possibility that these will be used for terrorism. I really hope that my mind is just full of stress because of work, leading to this erroneous imagination.

Posted by: Caezar Angelito Estioko Arceo | August 13, 2007 11:25 AM

Scientifically very interesting. My first thought, though, was being quite concerned about potential health risks in thawing out and culturing bacteria from 8 million years ago. Could these bacteria be potentially very dangerous if not lethal agents?

Posted by: Kristin | August 13, 2007 06:55 PM

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