A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and started having babies

[Olde Hornet]

A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and started having babies

Scientists on Thursday published a paper identifying and naming the worm, which they said belonged to a previously-unidentified species.

www.yahoo.com

• Scientists revived a 46,000-year-old worm that was frozen in Siberian permafrost.
• When they brought it back to life, the worm started having babies.
• Small worms like this are known to have the ability to shut down biological functions to survive.

Scientists discovered a female microscopic roundworm that has been stuck deep in Siberian permafrost for 46,000 years, The Washington Post reported. When they revived it, the worm started having babies via a process called parthenogenesis, which doesn't require a mate.

According to a press release, the worm spent thousands of years in a type of dormancy called cryptobiosis. In that state, which can last almost indefinitely, all metabolic processes pause, including "reproduction, development, and repair," the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa reported.

In a study published Thursday in the journal PLOS Genetics, scientists reported that after sequencing the worm's genome, scientists said it belonged to an "undescribed species."

 

[JROCK]

Interesting.....