Dormant bug warmed back to life after 100,000 years
A TINY purple bug discovered three kilometres under Greenland ice has been reawakened from a slumber lasting more than 100,000 years.
Scientists believe the unusual bacterium, named Herminiimonas glaciei, may hold clues to life on other planets.
Researchers coaxed the dormant frozen microbes back to life by carefully warming the ice samples containing them over 11 and a half months.
As the bugs awakened and began to replicate, colonies of very small purple-brown bacteria started to appear.
Dr Jennifer Loveland-Curtze, who led the US team at Pennsylvania State University, said: "These extremely cold environments are the best analogues of possible extraterrestrial habitats. The exceptionally low temperatures can preserve cells for millions of years."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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