Nematodes, also known as roundworms, are microscopic organisms which have adapted to nearly every ecosystem. Two species of nematodes were recently thawed from Siberian permafrost and were found to be moving and eating.
The two species were from two different samples of permafrost, one ~32,000 years old and the other ~42,000 years old.
Nematodes have two abilities which allow them to survive the largest threat from a deep freeze: ice. First, they are able to produce proteins which surround ice crystals and cushion their cells from ice’s sharp edges. Second, they are able to pump the water from their cells, minimizing the amount of danger from ice their cells are exposed to.
This is the first evidence of the long-term cryopreservation of multicellular animals from permafrost, according to the study.
