If you’re a germophobe, you won’t find comfort even in bleak Siberian expanses. Scientists have made another massive discovery of ancient (and giant) viruses hidden dormant in the permafrost. As the planet warms, finding these things—and waking them—is going to become more commonplace.
That’s significant, especially when you understand the gravity of the findings for experts involved in the ongoing research.
Jean-Michel Claverie has a lengthy résumé as professor of Medical Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of Mediterranée School of Medicine, director of the Mediterranean Institute of Microbiology, and head of the Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory, in Marseille, France. He sent The Daily Beast an extensive evaluation of findings from this and previous giant viruses.
That document states, “The fact that we might catch a viral infection from a long-extinct Neanderthal individual is a good demonstration that the notion that a virus could be ‘eradicated’ from the planet is plain wrong, and give us a false sense of security. At least a stock of vaccine should be kept, just in case.”
This may seem terrifying in the vein of every outbreak movie up to and including World War Z, but it’s actually unlikely that something buried in the permafrost will be awoken from slumber and destroy all of humanity.