French scientists are warning the world of another deadly pandemic. A zombie virus that had been lying frozen at the bottom of a Russian lake for 50,000 years has been revived reportedly.
Jean-Marie Alempic, a microbiologist from the French National Centre for Scientific Research led the research team. According to the study, if this virus causes any diseases upon coming in contact with plants, animals, and humans the situation would be catastrophic.
In light of the preliminary paper, global warming is estimated to be the reason for the irreversible thawing of extensive permafrost tranches. Permafrost is the ground covering one-quarter of the Northern Hemisphere that is permanently frozen. This could result in the release of organic matter including deadly pathogens that have been frozen over a period of million years.
The virus was discovered at the bottom of a lake in Yukechi Alas in Yakutia, Russia.
According to the research paper, it could be understood that the part of the organic matter also consists of cellular microbes and also viruses that have been dormant since prehistoric times. The cellular microbes in this case are the single-celled eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
Jean-Michel Claverie, the co-author of the study and a professor of the Aix-Marseille University had issued a warning notification to the health authorities. The warning is about the lack of sufficient updates on the frozen but not dead viruses in the permafrost.
As per the findings of the research team, it is stated that the lack of significant updates gives out a notion that such occurrences are rare and that zombie viruses are not a threat to public health.
Scientists have revived some of the deadly viruses from the Siberian permafrost to conduct a study on the awakening organisms. The oldest virus which was restored to its potential to infect other organisms is Pandoravirus yedoma, a 48,500 old virus.
It is called so after the mythological character Pandora who opened the box knowing it could result in menace. This broke the record of discovering a virus 30,000 years old which was led by the same team in Siberia in 2013.
The new strain of the virus is one among the 13 viruses outlined in the research study, each having a different genome. Viruses other than the Pandoravirus have been discovered from a variety of sources including the fur of the mammoth and the intestines of a Siberian wolf.
The scientists post the live culture study, concluded that the viruses could pose a threat to life because they could be infectious. If the permafrost keeps on melting it would continue to release other long-dormant viruses also which could be the key to pandemics similar to COVID-19.
According to the research paper, it could be comprehended that it is valid pondering the risk of ancient viral particles remaining infectious and getting back into circulation by the melting of permafrost layers.
The melting of these ice layers could result in the release of long-stored carbon dioxide and methane. The presence of these gasses in the atmosphere would further trigger the greenhouse effect.
Eric Delwart, the virologist at the University Of California, views that if the viruses from the permafrost could be isolated, then the chances of the more simpler viruses surviving continental drifts are more.
These viruses have not yet been studied subjecting to oxygen, light, heat, and other numerous molecular combinations.
Earlier in June of 2021, another worm group dormant for 24,000 years in the Arctic ice pole was activated by scientists.
Mankind is viewing such virus resurrections would cause an existential crisis. Until the new viruses and their properties, and characteristics regarding the genome components are studied, it would be complex to find the probable outcomes. The uncontrollable and irreversible ice thawing can cause the viruses once released to stay in the atmospheric layers forever.
The virus which was formed in the time before man and continental drifts, on introduction with the new particles of the present air might react vigorously.
The probability of these viruses combining with other poisonous gasses and pathogens to give form to new genome structures would also be a great challenge. Until the finishing of the complete study, it would be more complex to invent any antivirus or vaccines.
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