--- title: "Scientists Discover Ancient Viruses Frozen in Glacier" description: "Scientists have found remnants of more than 1,700 viruses, most of which had never been seen before, from an ancient Tibetan glacier." date: "2024-09-01" modified: "2024-09-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-discover-ancient-glacier-viruses" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "ancient virus" - "climate change" - "glaciers" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Discover Ancient Viruses Frozen in Glacier ![Scientists have found remnants of more than 1,700 viruses, most of which had never been seen before, from an ancient Tibetan glacier.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## On Ice While analyzing core samples from an ancient Tibetan glacier, scientists found remnants of more than 1,700 viruses, most of which had never been seen before. As [Ohio State University explained in a press release]() about the new findings from Tibet's massive Guliya Glacier — which was also the source of another trove of frozen viruses in 2021 — these newly-discovered dormant viral species seem to provide evidence linking climate change and viruses. Extracted from a 1,000-foot ice core extracted from the [giant Tibetan ice cap](), these dormant viruses offer what the school calls "pristine snapshots" of the last 41,000 years as the glacier and the world around it have warmed and cooled. "Before this work, how viruses linked to large-scale changes in Earth’s climate had remained largely uninvestigated," remarked ZhiPing Zhong, an OSU research associate who led the new study on the viruses, published this week in the [journal *Nature Geosciences*](). "Glacial ice is so precious, and we often don’t have the large amounts of material required for virus and microbe research." ## Many Such Cases While this is far from the first time scientists have [uncovered ancient viruses]() from [glacial samples](), the findings from Tibet's sprawling Guliya Glacier represent, as [Yale said in its own statment]() about the research, a fiftyfold increase in their numbers. Of the more than 1,700 viral species discovered in this latest Guliya core sample, about three quarters are brand new. The other quarter had genetic signatures that overlapped with known organisms from other parts of the world. "That means some of them were potentially transported from areas like the Middle East or even the Arctic," Zhong explained. Of the viruses found in the Guliya sample, the most distinct "viral community," as the scientists are calling it, dates back about 11,500 years. As the school notes, that era saw the world's climate shift from the Last Glacial Stage to the [warmer Holocene epoch]() in which we currently live. Though the researchers can't say for certain, this trove of newly-discovered ancient viruses seem to indicate that the microbial species reacted to climate change, or as the study lead put it, "indicates the potential connection between viruses and climate change." The researchers also insisted in their paper that these new viruses pose no risk to humans — but as [another study from 2023 suggested](), those contained within other ice structures could become dangerous as climate change continues to thaw them out. **More on glaciers:** [*Capital of Alaska Flooded By Melting Glacier*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()