Siberia's ancient 'Frankenvirus' to be reanimated by scientists
An ancient and giant virus, which was recently discovered in the Siberian wastelands, is going to be reanimated by France's National Center for Scientific Research, or CNRS, scientists. The French researchers that have unearth the virus promised to make sure that the virus won't be dangerous to anyone first.
"This discovery, which suggests giant viruses are not uncommon and are very diverse, also proves that the capacity of viruses to survive in the permafrost for very long periods is not limited by a particular type of virus, but probably covers viral families with different replication strategies and therefore potentially pathogenic," said CNRS in its official statement.
The scientists named the 30,000-year-old virus "Mollivirus sibericum," or literally translated as "soft virus from Siberia." The Mollivirus sibericum measures 0.6 microns (or just over a thousandth of a millimeter), which is considered to be a "giant" among other viruses. This virus comes with 523 genetic proteins, compared to a flu virus that has only 11, making it a "monster" virus.
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This is the fourth ancient virus that was discovered since 2003, and second to be found by the French researchers, according to a published report in PNAS, U.S. National Academy of Sciences' flagship journal. They found the Mollivirus sibericum in Chukotka, East Siberia, which is also where they found the "Pithovirus sibericum."
The scientists are now set to reanimate the virus, thus the nickname "Frankenvirus," to make sure that it is inactive, and won't trigger any diseases to animals and humans. The plan is to put the virus into a single-cell amoeba as its host, and wait what will happen next.
On the other hand, the French researchers also warned that climate change could wake up other undiscovered microscopic pathogens in the Arctic regions. If "awakened," these viruses may cause deadly diseases that can infect everyone, so it is important for the public to become aware of the other effects of climate change.
