Scientists Have Revived A Plant From The Pleistocene Epoch. This Plant Is 32,000 Years Old!
March 28, 2022
This is the oldest plant ever to be regenerated, beating the previous record holder by some 30,000 years.
National Academy of Sciences / www.pnas.org
A team of scientists from the Institute of Cell Biophysics and the Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, have successfully revived a flowering plant from a 32,000-year-old fruit buried in Siberian permafrost.
National Academy of Sciences / www.pnas.org
Back in 2007, scientists from Russia, Hungary and the United States recovered frozen Silene stenophylla seeds in northeastern Siberia. Using radiocarbon dating, the age of the seeds was estimated at between 20,000 and 40,000 years, dating the seeds to the Pleistocene epoch.
"Several immature fruits were found at a depth of 38 m in a seed conglomerate from the Duvanny Yar burrow," a team of scientists at the Russian Academy of Science wrote in a study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Silene seeds and fruits were dominant in this burrow and were in a state of good morphological preservation. Radiocarbon dating showed them to be 31,800 years old."
The team extracted tissue from the frozen seeds, placed it in vials, and successfully germinated the plants.
National Academy of Sciences / www.pnas.org
The team claims that the regenerated plants of S. stenophylla are now the most ancient, viable, multicellular, living organisms.
The previous record-holder is a date palm derived from a 2,000-year-old seed recovered from the ancient fortress of Masada in Israel.
Read the full study on PNAS.org.
Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz
Dolphin Analyzes Diver's Fin, Then Brings Him Another Fin The Next Time He Sees Him
A Mom Called PBS Asking For Mr. Rogers' Autograph. Instead, He Flew Out To See Her Daughter With His Puppets
A Westie In A Wheelchair Guides A Blind Rescue Fox On Their Daily Walks
'It Was JUST Them Two': Daughter Takes Photos Of Dad On Graduation Day
This Woman Bought A 2,000-Year-Old Roman Bust At Goodwill For $34.99
2-Year-Old Boy Orders 31 Cheeseburgers Through Mom's Phone
Dolphin Analyzes Diver's Fin, Then Brings Him Another Fin The Next Time He Sees Him
When You Get Older And Realize That A Magical Childhood Is The Result Of Your Parent's Effort
Dog Says 'Ice Cream' And Runs To Truck
Gorilla Pets A Groundhog At The Detroit Zoo
How To Find The Center Of A Board Without Doing Math
