A “zombie virus,” as it’s called, has been revived by scientists after being trapped in Arctic permafrost for 48,500 years. Scientists have warned that the virus, which has spent years frozen underground, could reawaken as the permafrost melts due to climate change.
However, the internet has been baffled since the news broke, as many believed the virus could turn people into zombies. Netizens reacted differently to the news, with some even starting a meme fest around the newly discovered virus.
One user expressed desperation as he wrote that scientists should know when to stop.
An Instagram user reacts to the “zombie virus” message (Image via Instagram/@gogabegoh96)
Temperatures in the Arctic are now noticeably warmer, which is already thawing the region’s permafrost. Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the earth’s surface.
Researchers are trying to estimate how much risk the viruses and bacteria trapped in this layer could pose to humans. In their evaluation process, scientists carefully resuscitate some of these organisms. Including the new “zombie virus”.
Netizens are unwilling to enter another lockdown when they hear about the ‘zombie virus’.
As soon as the news of the “zombie virus” broke, some people were confused as they couldn’t figure out if it was a new virus that could cause human extinction. Many wondered why scientists dealt with such viruses, which could have catastrophic consequences in the first place.
So apparently scientists have resurrected a “zombie” virus that was frozen in the permafrost for 48,500 years?
Scientists are crazy because what do you mean they bring back woolly mammoths and bring back a zombie virus instead of finding the cure for cancer
@DailyLoud Just sit idle and start digging or creating problems. You all went to a Chinese lab and nearly wiped out humanity in 2020. Now a zombie virus. Give us a break, everyone! Find a cure for cancer. Either they expect billions to die from Covid-19 soon or they have already started spreading this zombie virus saying it came from Siberia 🧊 to blame Russia.
The depopulation will happen anyway, it has to come from China, India, Asia etc because they are clones not humans
Some also said they were tired of having to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that followed. So the emergence of another virus that poses a possible threat to human existence is too much to accept.
Some said they were just beginning to enjoy some relief from the closure of COVID-19 and were not ready for another deadly virus to wreak havoc. Some jokingly said that the zombie virus was not in their 2023 bingo card.
Does anyone have Zombie Virus Revival on their 2023 bingo card?
@CNN Breaking: Pfizer is already in clinical trials for a zombie virus vaccine. They didn’t need to unfreeze a zombie virus from 48,500 years ago. The zombie virus now circulating has already infected NASCAR media and the mouth breathers who worship Dave Moody. twitter.com/disclosetv/sta…NEW – Scientists have resurrected a “zombie” virus frozen in permafrost for 48,500 years “to better understand the risks” it poses to animals and humans.
reveal.tv/id/16335358413…
Not zombie virus now, we’re all a little skinny right now. twitter.com/1newsnz/status…Scientists are worried we’re nearing an intersection of both problems and warn that melting permafrost could expose the world to viruses they’ve never seen and don’t have the immunity to fight fight back
1news.co.nz/2023/03/09/sci…
The zombie virus in the film turned humans into snarling, rabid beasts with no humanity.
SARS-COV-2 has not wiped out our humanity. The truth was more insidious. It turns out that many people in society don’t have much humanity or compassion to begin with. We are surrounded by people
who made this zombie virus anyway
Another group of people who’ve been sifting through the news have tried to reassure the bewildered bunch that the virus was only dubbed the “zombie” virus because it was revived after being frozen for so many years.
All reactions are from people who didn’t read the article. It’s called the zombie virus because it revived after a period of dormancy. Also, it only affects unicellular organisms, not humans or animals. 🤦 twitter.com/itvnews/status…no way are you reading this as a zombie virus like The Walking Dead and not a zombie virus like a dead virus coming to life twitter.com/cnn/status/163…scientists have a ” zombie ” Virus that was frozen in permafrost for 48,500 years cnn.it/3YA4u1D “Zombie virus” is just a term for an inactive virus that becomes active again
We don’t get real zombies twitter.com/IGN/status/163…
The oldest “zombie virus” scientists have resurrected from the permafrost is 48,500 years old and is still contagious, if only to amoebas. cnn.it/3Js59hp What scientists had to say about the ‘zombie virus’
In a study published in February in the journal Viruses, the authors said they had every hope that modern antibiotics, available to everyone, could quickly control them should an epidemic break out due to a resurrected prehistoric pathogenic bacterium.
Scientists have revived a “zombie virus” that was frozen in the permafrost for almost 50,000 years
They added that although bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes seem surprisingly widespread in the permafrost, an epidemic caused by this bacterium could still be contained.
However, the study warned that if the disease in humans, plants and animals were caused by the revival of an unknown ancient virus, the situation would be much more catastrophic, as no specific vaccine or treatment would be immediately available.
Anthrax outbreaks in reindeer have already been linked to causing the thawing of Siberia’s permafrost. Hot summers in Siberia have primarily brought old anthrax spores from animal graves to light again.
In the latest study, French researcher Jean-Michel Claverie and his team reported that they managed to revive and isolate several prehistoric viruses from the permafrost. It also contained a giant strain of virus called pithovirus, which was found in a 27,000-year-old plain permafrost that also contained a lot of mammoth wool.
Most of the virus isolates belonged to the Pandoraviridae family, which was composed of double-stranded DNA viruses. These viruses can infect very small and simple single-celled organisms called amoebas.
Scientists have allegedly resurrected a “zombie” virus that was frozen in the permafrost for 48,500 years
According to “experts”, the amoeba-infecting viruses are still contagious.
The authors stated in this recent study:
“This study confirms the ability of large DNA viruses infecting Acanthamoeba to remain infectious after more than 48,500 years in deep permafrost.”
To ensure safety, Jean-Michel and his team have focused on resurrecting ancient viruses that target these single-celled organisms rather than humans or animals. Another group of scientists in Russia is currently looking for paleoviruses directly from the remains of woolly rhinos, mammoths or prehistoric horses preserved in permafrost.
Jean-Michel and his team wrote:
“We believe that without the need to embark on such a risky project, our results with Acanthamoeba-infecting viruses can be extrapolated to many other DNA viruses that can infect humans or animals.”
The researchers warned that the yet-unidentified viruses would likely be released as the permafrost melted. They said it was impossible to estimate how long these viruses could remain infectious once exposed to outdoor conditions such as oxygen, heat and UV light, and how likely they were to find and infect a suitable host in the meantime would.
They added that the risk associated with global warming is bound to escalate, which will only accelerate permafrost melting. With industrial endeavors, more people will populate the Arctic, further increasing the risk of acting as a host of infection.
