{"id":15154,"date":"2025-10-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=15154"},"modified":"2025-11-05T11:06:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:06:01","slug":"ancient-microbes-in-permafrost-40000-year-slumber-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/ancient-microbes-in-permafrost-40000-year-slumber-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"40,000 Years Under Ice. Scientists Found Life That Shouldn’t Exist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How Scientists Woke Up Ancient Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This discovery in the glaciers could change science. Scientists “woke up” microbes that were frozen for over 40,000 years<\/strong>. A team from the University of Colorado extracted permafrost samples, and what they found literally returned to life. The ancient organisms survived millennia in the ice\u2014now they are moving again. How did researchers manage to revive them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Permafrost Hid More Than Expected<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was not an easy task. Scientists had to collect samples from a mixture of ice, rocks<\/a>, and soil from inside Alaska. They used a special tunnel\u2014the Permafrost Tunnel\u2014which belongs to the US Army Corps of Engineers. This unique location allows them to descend up to 107 meters deep into the frozen ground. The microbes, trapped for thousands of years, were waiting right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers placed the ice samples in water at temperatures of \u20134, 4, and 12 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, the water they used for the experiments was also not arbitrary\u2014its composition was crucial for further research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American researchers used what they call “heavy water”\u2014it contains heavier isotopes of hydrogen that they can easily detect in the laboratory. This allowed the scientists to track every stage of the microorganisms’ “defrosting.” It was like leaving a trail\u2014researchers could see exactly when and how the ancient life<\/a> began functioning again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n