55 votes

A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and asexually produced offspring

9 comments

  1. [5]
    doingmybest
    Link
    This is definitely the first ten minutes of a horror sci-fi movie.

    This is definitely the first ten minutes of a horror sci-fi movie.

    33 votes
    1. Moody
      Link Parent
      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235448/

      At a remote Arctic research station, four ecology students discover the real horror of global warming is not the melting ice, but what's frozen within it. A prehistoric parasite is released from the carcass of a Woolly Mammoth upon the unsuspecting students who are forced to quarantine and make necessary sacrifices, or risk infecting rest of the world.

      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235448/

      16 votes
    2. Carighan
      Link Parent
      Yeah I was about to say, I was pretty sure we'd all go down because of climate change and wars, but nope, prehistoric killer worm swarm it is!

      Yeah I was about to say, I was pretty sure we'd all go down because of climate change and wars, but nope, prehistoric killer worm swarm it is!

      5 votes
    3. spit-evil-olive-tips
      Link Parent
      for maximum effect, I think you'd want the opening scene to be a timeline / montage: 1997: sample of the 1918 flu virus strain recovered from a grave in Alaska (and thankfully, used to develop a...

      for maximum effect, I think you'd want the opening scene to be a timeline / montage:

      1997: sample of the 1918 flu virus strain recovered from a grave in Alaska (and thankfully, used to develop a vaccine)

      2016: Anthrax outbreak in Siberia that was likely caused by the thawing of an infected reindeer corpse

      2023: 46,000 year old worm brought back to life and produces offspring

      2030:

      (fade to black)

      5 votes
  2. [2]
    SunSpotter
    Link
    Really curious how the DNA in the animal fared after spending nearly 50,000 years dormant. I thought DNA would degrade beyond viability after that much time. I know that when you hear people talk...

    Really curious how the DNA in the animal fared after spending nearly 50,000 years dormant. I thought DNA would degrade beyond viability after that much time. I know that when you hear people talk about cloning and sequencing ancient DNA this is a challenge often discussed.

    So I’m curious if there’s some mechanism here I don’t understand that prevented this from being a problem, or if the worms resurrection/birth was short lived due to its genome being partially missing/corrupted.

    9 votes
    1. Tilgare
      Link Parent
      DNA has a half life of around 450 years. But in Greenland, they found 450,000-800,000 year old DNA - in the ice. If kept cold and dark, it can survive long past it's expiration date.

      DNA has a half life of around 450 years. But in Greenland, they found 450,000-800,000 year old DNA - in the ice. If kept cold and dark, it can survive long past it's expiration date.

      8 votes
  3. [2]
    oniony
    Link
    I misread the title as "woman".

    I misread the title as "woman".

    4 votes