According to a recent study, scientists have achieved the remarkable feat of reviving minute creatures known as nematodes, which had been in a deep slumber for an astonishing 46,000 years.

These microscopic animals were successfully reanimated after being discovered in the permafrost, the frozen soil bordering Siberia’s northern Kolyma River.

Radiocarbon analysis confirmed that they belonged to a previously unknown, functionally extinct species called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, which existed during a prehistoric era when Neanderthals and dire wolves roamed the Earth.

The discovery holds significant importance for understanding evolutionary processes, Vice News reported.

The prolonged suspension of these nematodes’ life cycles, from days to millennia, reveals the potential for species to endure over incredibly long periods.

It even opens up the possibility of extinct lineages being revived through the survival of individual organisms. The findings were published in the journal PLoS Genetics on a recent Thursday.

Written by staff