More ancient viruses may find their way into modern ecosystems as climate change accelerates ice loss, NPR reports.
A study by Eric Dewalt at the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco found a 700-year-old virus, perfectly preserved in caribou droppings that only recently defrosted. ” Brumfiel reports that “the DNA was so well-preserved that Delwart’s collaborators could even reconstitute one virus and use it to infect a plant in the lab.”
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Dewalt published his results last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (h/t to CBC News for pointing us to this story)
