28 previously unidentified viruses in a glacier in Tibet

 

28 previously unidentified viruses in a glacier in Tibet

Scientists say they have found 28 previously unidentified viruses in a Tibetan glacier. These viruses are believed to have originated about 15,000 years ago today. They are viruses that have never been recorded in world science, and the study was conducted by a team of researchers at Ohio University in the United States.

Here they took a sample of the Gulia ice sheet in Tibet to their laboratory for further study. Accordingly, the virus fragments that lived on the soil or small plants in the sample were identified. Here they found 33 viruses, four of which were previously identified as having existed in the world. They are also viruses that cause common bacterial infections. It is also said that the concentration of these viruses is lower than the virus samples currently found on rocks and in the ocean. The researchers said that their research was performed experimentally with infected cats and that those experiments did not show a mutation in the virus but did say that "such mutations cannot be ruled out."

Commenting on this, Professor Shi-pinge Songe of the University of Ohio said, "These glaciers have formed gradually with dust and air, and many viruses have been deposited in them." According to the researchers, ice samples were taken from this glacier in 2015. This glacier is believed to have formed about 15,000 years ago today.

Each year, a new layer of ice is deposited on the ice sheet, protecting it from exposure to anything outside. Scientists say that these environmental conditions are the reason why viruses that have not been identified in science have remained there for a long time. It has been identified that ice contributes to the preservation of these viruses, and that they change according to their natural adaptations.