Ancient Viruses Found in Tibetan Glaciers: A New Threat?
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Chapter 1: A New Era of Viral Discovery
In recent weeks, the world has been closely monitoring the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, which has been infecting and claiming lives daily. While the 2019-nCoV virus is a variant of an already recognized pathogen commonly found in domestic animals, we must contemplate the possibility of encountering an outbreak caused by a completely unknown virus. What if there were 28 such viruses?
An international research team has unveiled 28 ancient viruses previously unknown to modern science. These pathogens were extracted from ice cores of the Guliya Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau in China.
Scientists from Ohio State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ventured to this glacier in the Tibetan Highlands to gather samples from ice that is estimated to be around 15,000 years old.
Section 1.1: The Sample Collection Process
To collect these samples, researchers drilled 50-meter boreholes into the glacier, reaching layers of ice that had remained isolated from the external environment for thousands of years. They later analyzed the microbes encapsulated within the ice, leading to the identification of 28 viruses that had never been encountered before. The findings were published in the bioXiv preprint database.
It is important to note that the two ice cores were retrieved without stringent measures to prevent microbial contamination during the drilling and handling processes. While the exterior of the ice cores may have been contaminated, the interior layers have remained untouched by the outside world for an extensive period.
In order to access the uncontaminated sections of the cores, the scientists established a laboratory with controlled conditions, maintaining a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit). They utilized sterilized equipment and cleaning solutions to ensure that they could safely reach the pristine layers of the glacier cores.
Section 1.2: Analyzing the Viral Reservoir
Following the careful extraction of the uncontaminated layers, researchers analyzed the microbial life preserved in the ice, ultimately identifying a total of 33 virus types. After extensive verification, they confirmed that 28 of these were entirely new to human knowledge. This marked the first instance of human interaction with these specific pathogens.
The researchers expressed concern that ongoing climate change and the resulting glacier melt could lead to the irreversible loss of vital viral archives like the one recently uncovered. As they articulated in their report, studying ancient viruses offers a crucial glimpse into viral genomes and their ecological contexts.
Chapter 2: The Risks of Climate Change
The ice cores not only document ancient microbial life but also provide insight into the climatic conditions that enabled their existence in the past. As glaciers continue to melt globally, the opportunity to retrieve such pristine samples diminishes, posing a significant risk to scientific progress.
This video discusses the discovery of ancient viruses in the Tibetan glacier, shedding light on the potential implications for global health.
Moreover, the melting glaciers could release long-dormant pathogens into our atmosphere and oceans—pathogens to which humanity has never developed immunity. This scenario could lead to a global epidemic akin to the current crisis with the coronavirus or previous outbreaks such as SARS and MERS.
This video explores how scientists are awakening ancient viruses previously unknown to modern medicine, highlighting the potential risks involved.
The researchers acknowledged that if such a release were to occur, the insights gained from their studies might prove invaluable. The more we uncover about ancient microbes today, the better equipped we will be to face them in the future. In dire circumstances, this prior research might be humanity's only defense against survival on our planet.