Scientists uncover 28 new viruses frozen in ice for thousands of years

[left-of-center2012]

A group of scientists studying glacier ice have discovered 28 new viruses in two ice cores that are nearly 15,000 years old, according to findings published in the journal Microbiome on Wednesday.

“These glaciers were formed gradually, and along with dust and gases, many, many viruses were also deposited in that ice,” said Zhi-Ping Zhong, lead author of the study who developed a decontamination process to study the ice. “The glaciers in western China are not well-studied, and our goal is to use this information to reflect past environments. And viruses are a part of those environments.”

Researchers analyzed ice cores removed from the Guliya ice cap — which lies around 22,000 feet above sea level — discovering 33 viruses in the samples. Twenty-eight are novel, and researchers note that they appear to have survived because they were trapped in ice.

“These are viruses that would have thrived in extreme environments,” study co-author Matthew Sullivan said in a statement. “These viruses have signatures of genes that help them infect cells in cold environments – just surreal genetic signatures for how a virus is able to survive in extreme conditions.”

... scientists “know very little about viruses and microbes in these extreme environments, and what is actually there.”

https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/564496-scientists-uncover-28-new-viruses-frozen-in-ice

[Warpy]

1. Most viruses are species specific. When they jump species, it's noteworthy

because it doesn't happen all that often. Most likely these viruses are encoded to eat mastodons or sabre tooth cats or cave bears.

They will be fascinating to study if they can find culture media they can grow them on, which is going to be a very tall order. Otherwise, the'll have to sequence the genomes and be done.

[Claire Oh Nette]

2. But global warming is a hoax, because Tom Delay had a snowball....

As the permafrost thaws with Climate change, weather patterns shift, and what was frozen solid evaporates into the atmosphere. It's like science is real or something.

This novel coronavirus is a glimpse of things to come. That extracting fuel from deep within the earth then burning it causes atmospheric changes shouldn't surprise anyone, yet it does.

President Carter installed solar panels on the White House in the late 70s, and Reagan pulled them off. Imagine if we'd followed Carter's lead and invested in solar and increased fleet MPG requirements then. The problem is there is no profit in encouraging conservation. Conservatives aren't about conserving anything except their own power and money.

Stock up on masks, kids.