Scientists have discovered more than 1,700 previously unknown ancient viruses sitting dormant in a glacier.
It has raised concerns about global warming. Should the ice melt, the pathogens could be released into the world. Researchers found them in a 1,000-foot ice core from the Guliya Glacier in the Tibetan Plateau, western China.
The viruses date back over 40,000 years and have survived three major global shifts from cold to warm climates. Deadly pathogens have emerged from melting permafrost in other places, stoking fears over a potential outbreak.
In 2016, for example, anthrax spores escaped from an animal carcass that had been frozen in Siberian permafrost for 75 years. Dozens were hospitalized and one child died.
But the researchers have said that the new viruses found in China pose no threat to humans, only infecting single-celled organisms.
The team of researchers led by Ohio State University drilled over 1,000 feet into the Guliya Glacier, a massive icecap located in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau.
The resulting ice core was separated into nine segments, each representing a different time horizon and climactic period. The segments ranged from 160 to 41,000 years old.
The researchers extracted DNA from each segment and used a process called metagenomic analysis to identify each individual viral strain.
This comes as rapper Ludacris sparked controversy after he posted a video on social media of him drinking melted water from a glacier in Alaska.
The video got millions of views, with commenters worrying about his health after drinking untreated water.
But a glaciologist has since stated that ‘he’s totally fine,’ and that water from a glacial melt stream is ‘about the cleanest water you’ll ever get.’