Melting Ice Could Wake Up Ancient Frozen Viruses
Arctic Ice US Geological Survey Melting polar regions are already causing unprecedented sea level rise but there are other threats besides water buried in the swiftly melting ice. Since 2003, large viruses (longer than 0.5 microns) have been found ensconced in permafrost, a layer of soil in the Arctic that is usually permanently frozen. In a new study published in PNAS today, scientists announced that they were studying a 30,000 year old virus found in the same frigid environment. The ancient virus, Mollivirus sibericum, is able to infect a modern amoeba, which raises concerns among scientists. The authors of the paper worry that while the few ancient viruses identified in the permafrost sample don't appear to be harmful to humans (they haven't found varieties of small pox or herpes), others might not be so...