By Vania Raebel | October 9, 2019
Million-Year-Old Bacteria: Part II
These ancient bacteria may be commendable for being able to withstand the test of time, but it doesn’t mean they should be unearthed. Bacteria can be incredibly dangerous to animals and humans alike. Some of them reside in the bodies of dead animals, and some can survive without a host. These bacteria are extremely harmful because unlike modern bacteria, we have not been exposed to them, meaning we have no developed immunity.
For example, the Arctic peninsula has seen cases of the anthrax bacteria re-emerging. This rebirth has affected numerous small towns in the northern regions of Russia. Other latent bacteria may be lurking in the Arctic glaciers, including the bubonic plague that took the lives of thousands of people. The melting of polar ice caps is no joke, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because these deadly diseases may come with it.
