The permafrost in the arctic and Antarctic are warming at an unprecedented rate. Whether this will help cool the Earth or unleash even greater strife and turmoil, is a matter of debate. One thing we know for sure, the arctic is being affected by climate change at a much faster than predicted, and three times more quickly than the rest of the planet.
One of the fears is that this will release a significant amount of methane gas into the atmosphere. The bacteria in this permafrost can either release carbon dioxide or methane, depending if there’s enough oxygen around. This is the traditional concern. But now things are getting more complicated.
Scientists need to find out exactly what kind of bacteria is trapped and what kind of reaction their reintroduction might make.Bacteria can last a really long time frozen and reactivate as if nothing’s happened. Consider, in a 2005 NASA study, researchers revived a 32,000 year-old bacteria from the bottom of a frozen lake. That’s not the oldest. A 2007 study saw scientists rejuvenate a bacteria frozen for millions of years. So it’s possible that an ancient pathogen which we have no knowledge of could rise up and cause the next great epidemic.
Since Neanderthals and Denisovans were known to inhabit Siberia, viruses from one of these prehistoric hominin species could enter into the biosphere and come to infect us, modern-day humans. There’s even evidence that such bacteria may be antibiotic-resistant. The reason is, they encounter fungi and other organisms in the environment who naturally create their own antibiotics. This allows the bacteria to evolve to overcome them and so their pharmaceutical equivalents.
Now, instead of from the distant past, it…
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