Back from the dead! Ancient roundworm is being revived after lying dormant in Siberian permafrost for 46,000 years
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The primordial creature that predated civilization and was brought back from the dead: 46,000-year-old roundworm is revived after an eternity in Siberian permafrost
- Long-extinct worms were dormant while frozen in Siberian permafrost
- These worms were revived after scientists provided them with water and food
Time travel has been ruled by a tiny worm that reawakened after being frozen for an estimated 46,000 years.
They are believed to have lived in the late Pleistocene, the time of the woolly mammoths, a small group of worms brought from the Siberian permafrost, thawed and “came back to life.”
The worms, from a long-extinct species called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, were not actually dead, but in a dormant state called cryptobiosis, in which they ceased until their bodily processes could no longer be detected.
Scientists previously only had evidence that roundworms could stay in this state for less than 40 years.
But radiocarbon dating of plants in the icy burrow where the worms were found suggests they are about 46,000 years old.
A group of worms retrieved from Siberian permafrost thawed and ‘came back to life’
Professor Teymuras Kurzchalia, senior author of A study of the incredible finding, published in the journal of PLOS Genetics, and emeritus professor at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, said: ‘This little worm could now be considered for a Guinness World Record, after being in a state of apparent death that lasted much longer than anyone thought possible.
“That it could be reanimated after 46,000 years stunned me.
‘It’s a bit like the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, but over a much longer period of time.’
The most spectacular example of long-suspended animation was seen in bacterial spores revived after 40 million years in the abdominal contents of extinct bees preserved in buried amber.
But the new result is considered the best yet among the few tiny creatures, including the famously indestructible microscopic tardigrades nicknamed “water bears,” and aquatic creatures called rotifers that can go into a dormant state and later come back to life can come.
It’s been five years since Russian scientists retrieved the Panagrolaimus kolymaensis roundworms from permafrost using the burrow of an extinct arctic gopher 40 meters from the surface of the Duvanny Yar outcrop on the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia.
Now the new study has revealed how long those worms waited to reanimate.
A small group of reanimated worms, which came back to life after being provided with water and food, lived for less than a month but gave rise to more than 100 generations of new worms.
These worms were found to use a similar mechanism to enter a state of suspended animation as the larvae of modern roundworms, called Caenorhabditis elegans, found in compost heaps and in decaying fruit and plants across Europe and the world.
The worms, from a long-extinct species called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, were not actually dead, but in a dormant state called cryptobiosis (Photo: Siberia)
Laboratory experiments suggest that it may be important for the worms to be slightly dehydrated before they can successfully survive at -80C with key body functions shut down.
On a biochemical level, both species produced a sugar called trehalose when slightly dehydrated in the lab, potentially allowing them to withstand frostbite and intense dehydration.
Professor Kurzchalia said: ‘We are still a long way from using this science to bring back cryonically frozen humans or dinosaurs, although we now have a better understanding of how to achieve a state between life and death.
“But much remains to be explored.
‘This could help to store cells or tissues in the future.’
READ MORE: Can WORMS Hold the Secret to Anti-Aging? Scientists extend the life of a roundworm genetically similar to humans FIVE TIMES
Scientists have managed to extend a worm’s lifespan by 500 percent in a surprising discovery that could hold the secret to anti-aging in humans.
Caenorhabditis elegans, a roundworm that shares genetic traits with humans, normally lives for about three to four weeks.
By modifying a number of cellular pathways, the US and Chinese research team were able to develop a worm that lived for more than 14 weeks – a fivefold increase.
This increase in longevity would be the equivalent of a human life of about 400 to 500 years.
The discovery could lead to similar combination therapies for people that prolong the aging process, just as combination therapies are used today to treat cancer and HIV.
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode or roundworm, about 0.03 inches (1 mm) long