Scientists discover 15,000-year-old viruses in Tibetan glacier
Recommended for Secondary Grades
Scientists have discovered 15,000-year-old unknown viruses in a glacier called the Guliya ice cap. This glacier is located on the Tibetan Plateau in China.
Important Details
- Scientists found evidence of about 33 viruses.
- Them, scientists already know about a few of them but about 28 are unknown.
- It seems many of the viruses liked living in the extreme cold.
- Scientists say that this discovery could help them learn more about how viruses have evolved over time.
- The glacier samples they got the viruses from are made up of layers. These layers act like time capsules.
- A time capsule is a container storing objects of the present time and buried for discovery in the future.
- So, this can help scientists see how climates and environments were in the past.
- Scientists used an “ultra-clean” method to extract the virus (without dirtying the ice).
- Moreover, they said they could use this method to study samples from space (like Mars) in the future.
Global warming
As glaciers are melting due to global warming, scientists say that we may continue to discover more such ancient viruses from ice. Recently, we also read about scientists reviving a giant 30,000-year-old virus found in Siberian permafrost.
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