A team of scientists has discovered thousands of ancient ‘zombie’ viruses, some up to 41,000 years old, in the Himalayas. The team, consisting of 60 researchers from China and the US, collected ice cores from the Guliya Glacier on the north-western Tibetan Plateau. These ice samples revealed more than 1,700 previously unknown viral genomes.
The glacier, over 6,000 meters above sea level, has preserved these viruses through different eras. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, revealed the viruses come from nine different ancient periods. Using a specialised machine, scientists drilled a 10cm wide core more than 300 meters into the ice, unlocking a vast amount of historical information.
Matthew Sullivan, a virologist from the University of Ohio, explained that recovering the ice core was just one part of the challenge. According to ABC News, he shared that glacial ice is very clean and clear, so special precautions were necessary to prevent modern viruses from polluting the ancient samples. Sullivan mentioned that, although glacial meltwater seems pure, the team had to use extremely clean methods for handling and analysing the samples.
“These time horizons span three major cold-to-warm cycles, providing a unique opportunity to observe how viral communities have changed in response to different climatic conditions. By studying these ancient viruses, we gain valuable insights into viral response to past climate changes, which could enhance our understanding of viral adaptation in the context of ongoing global climate change,” ZhiPing Zhong, first author of the new study and paleoclimatologist at Ohio State University added.
Erin Harvey, another virologist who wasn’t part of the study, suggested that as temperatures rise, these ancient viruses might impact the microbial communities around them. According to her, “If a virus evolves to infect and kill a certain bacterial species that can push the abundance of that microbial species down. Or maybe the virus could evolve to help that microbial species, and then the population would expand.”
Researchers shared that these zombie viruses could possibly infect humans and might spread across the world if released. They believe that further research is needed to understand how these ancient viruses have impacted their environments over the years and stop them from spreading in future.
However, Erin Harvey doesn’t think the ancient viruses will cause any issues if they are melted. She believes that we should be more concerned about new viruses evolving rather than worrying about old ones reappearing.
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