Asleep For 24,000 Years Under Siberian Ice, This Microbe Just Woke Up In Russia
They are often found in freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and moist terrestrial habitats like tree bark, moss, and soil.
Researchers from Russia¡¯s Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems have discovered a microscopic arctic animal who has been asleep for 24,000 years in the permafrost of Siberia and has just woken up.
Michael Plewka
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The creature is a bdelloid rotifer, a minuscule freshwater critter that has survived for a millennia in the freezing permafrost of Siberia. Rotifers, also commonly known as ¡®wheel animalcules¡¯ were earlier believed to have survived up to 10 years when frozen. However, the new research has set a new limit.
The multicellular invertebrates are actually female and are popular for their resistance to radiation. They are also capable of withstanding inhospitable environments such as starvation, low oxygen and even drying. They are often found in freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and moist terrestrial habitats like tree bark, moss, and soil.
These rotifers come equipped with a complete digestive tract that has both a mouth and an anus. Their secret to surviving harsh conditions is by disabling all activity in their body and putting the body in the state of cryptobiosis -- arresting their metabolism.
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Stas Malavin, one of the lead researchers explains the phenomenon, ¡°It's a state, kind of, between life and death.¡± According to Stas, the rotifers would have been under the feet of big woolly creatures. Moreover, they saw that once the ice was thawed, they were also able to reproduce.
Michael Plewka
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Stas added, "Our report is the hardest proof as of today that multicellular animals could withstand tens of thousands of years in cryptobiosis, the state of almost completely arrested metabolism."
"The takeaway is that a multicellular organism can be frozen and stored as such for thousands of years and then return back to life -- a dream of many fiction writers. Of course, the more complex the organism, the trickier it is to preserve it. For mammals, it's not currently possible."
