Scientists pull living microbes, possibly 100 million years old, from beneath the sea | Science | AAAS

Scientists pull living microbes, possibly 100 million years old, from beneath the sea | Science | AAAS

Microbes revived after 100 million years

Scientists have managed to wake up microbes that have been buried deep beneath the sea floor — apparently in a dormant state — since dinosaurs walked on Earth. The bacteria were discovered in 100-million-year-old clay samples drilled from beneath the South Pacific. When incubated and given nutrients, the microbes began to feed and multiply. “Low food and energy seem not to set the ultimate limit for life on Earth,” says marine microbiologist Bo Barker Jørgensen.

Science | 5 min readReference: Nature Communications paper