Trapped Ancient Viruses Never Seen Before are Finally Waking Up Due to Melting Permafrost

Ancient viruses trapped in permafrost, never seen before, are finally waking up. This is according to a new study led by Canada-based researchers, who asserted that the viral spillover risk increases in parallel with climate change, especially in High Arctic Lake sediments. The study highlights the threat posed by a diverse spectrum of viruses which can infect a few species to several phyla.

Ancient Viruses Awakening

In the new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B on October 19, researchers from the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, used genetic analysis to determine how the threat of a viral spillover could increase as a result of global warming.

The research team collected samples of soil and lake sediment from the country's Lake Hazen and found that the risk reportedly increased with glacier runoff or climate change in lake sediment samples, according to the study.

The emphasis of the study is in the High Arctic since scientists have found that it is significantly affected by the climate crisis, which makes the icy region warm faster than the rest of the world. The increased warming could lead to elevated melting and thawing of permafrost, which could unravel ancient viruses buried for thousands or millions of years.

15,000-Year-Old Viruses

The new research follows a recent discovery of viruses from melting glaciers in Tibet dating back to 15,000 years ago, as part of a study spearheaded by a different research group in the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) reported.

The Tibetan melting glaciers contained dozens of unique viruses, which indicated the high possibility that the current immune system of humans of today are not equipped to fend off these frozen viruses.

With this, the discovery could help scientists understand the evolution of viruses over the centuries, as well as relying on freezing temperatures to survive, the NSF adds.

Gene Therapy

In 2015, scientists from Harvard University have attempted to resurrect ancient viruses but not for the purposes of launching the next apocalypse.

Instead, the attempts reportedly aim to improve gene therapy to more patients, especially with a focus on the liver, muscle, and retina.

The scientists at that time hoped to utilize these viruses to design gene therapies that are safer and more effective than the ones we currently have.

Origin of Viruses

Meanwhile, the awakening of ancient viruses can cause global pandemics, based on scientific evidence in the past, according to The Conversation.

In addition to the current novel coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19 pandemic) and the global monkeypox outbreak, overlapping pandemics from new viruses would be a worldwide public health disaster.

However, scientists are still studying the nature and origins of viruses until now, which can possibly lead to further understanding them and giving us a fighting chance to mitigate or prevent the next virus-borne global pandemic.