Researchers find viruses frozen 15,000 years ago in glaciers in Tibet

Permafrost, or permanently frozen, in free translation, is a surface that remains below freezing temperatures year-round in the Arctic and in regions of other countries. severe weather Such as Canada and Russia, as well as the state of Alaska in the United States. Ice preserves important information, especially in the field of microbiology, that can help reveal the climatic context of other eras on the planet, as well as predictions about future climate change.

a Global temperature rise This led to the thawing of areas that until then had been frozen most of the time. Despite the concern, the scenario allows the researchers to expand their studies into frozen regions. One such survey, led by scientists at Ohio State University in the US, revealed virus who have spent the past fifteen thousand years freezing in the icy Tibet region of Asia.

Classification of new viruses can be generated using gene sharing analysis from viral sequences. According to the study, from the genetic analysis, 33 types of viruses were found, of which 28 are new. consequences a study Forum has not published a scientific journal Microbiome.

The analysis focused on viruses that infect bacteriaThey are called phages. According to the study, the data found opens the way for the development of new research in the field of viral communities found in glaciers.

“These methods and datasets may allow researchers to contextualize new findings and begin to integrate ice microbes and viruses into context. weather changes past and present in geographically diverse regions around the world.”