Scientists Revive 'Zombie' Virus , Frozen in Permafrost for , Almost 50,000 Years.<br />French professor Jean-Michel Claverie discovered <br />the 48,000-year-old frozen virus at several <br />permafrost sites located in Siberia. .<br />Business Insider reports that his team found that the <br />"zombie" virus could still infect single-celled amoebas.<br />Business Insider reports that his team found that the <br />"zombie" virus could still infect single-celled amoebas.<br />The oldest strain that Claverie uncovered <br />dates back 48,500 years and was found in <br />a sample of soil from an underground lake.<br />The oldest strain that Claverie uncovered <br />dates back 48,500 years and was found in <br />a sample of soil from an underground lake.<br />The permafrost covers approximately <br />15% of the land in the Northern Hemisphere <br />and remains frozen throughout the year. .<br />The youngest samples discovered <br />originated some 27,000 years ago.<br />One of those relatively <br />younger samples was found<br />in the thawing carcass <br />of a woolly mammoth.<br />According to the researchers who made<br />the discovery, these types of long-frozen viruses <br />should be considered a threat to public heath. .<br />You must remember our immune <br />defense has been developed <br />in close contact with <br />microbiological surroundings, Birgitta Evengård, professor emerita at Umea University's <br />Department of Clinical Microbiology in Sweden, via CNN.<br />If there is a virus hidden in the permafrost that we have not been <br />in contact with for thousands of <br />years, it might be that our <br />immune defense is not sufficient, Birgitta Evengård, professor emerita at Umea University's <br />Department of Clinical Microbiology in Sweden, via CNN.<br />Rising global temperatures have caused <br />the permafrost to begin to rapidly thaw, threatening <br />to release a host of ancient viruses and bacteria.
