A new type of organism discovered in an Arctic tunnel came to life in the lab after being frozen for 32,000 years.
The deep-freeze bacteria could point to new methods of cryogenics, and they are the sort of biology scientists say might exist on Mars and other planets and moons.
“The existence of microorganisms in these harsh environments suggests — but does not promise — that we might one day discover similar life forms in the glaciers or permafrost of Mars or in the ice crust and oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa,” said Richard Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Other microbes have been discovered in similar frigid environments, sometimes clinging to pockets of liquid water in ice packs. And some microbes survive in ice as spores, but they need to be cultured to bring them to life.
NASA described the newfound critter as “the first fully described, validated species ever found alive in ancient ice.”
“They immediately started swimming when the ice melted,” Hoover told LiveScience, adding that the cryopreserved bacteria were instantly ready to eat and multiply.
