Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

siberiantimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 159 posts

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#121

Post by dekhn »

xevb3k wrote: post #17

I thought the half life of DNA was around 400 years. Anyone know how this is possible?

it depends on the moisture, salt, and temperature conditions. DNA kept in dry, cool conditions with the right salt concentrations is effectively stable (very very low base transversion and strand breakage rates).

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#122

Post by dekhn »

i_feel_great wrote: post #31

Would these worms have been snap-frozen? I.e., they did not freeze slowly so that ice crystals did not form in their cells killing them. How would snap freezing work in these environments.

cryptobiosis. they have the ability to remove the majority of water, which greatly reduces enzyme activity, and package everything so it stays pretty stable but reactivates when wetted and warmed.

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#124

Post by dekhn »

Nematodes are funny. I was curious, so I bought a simple inspection microscope and bought some agar plates with E.Coli on them. You can easily sample nematodes by cutting up rotting fruit and putting it on the edge of the plates. the nematodes will cruise out of the fruit and cruise around the E.Coli eating it, leaving tracks. Then you can make a worm pick, isolate and clean nematodes, and transfer them to other plates or slides for closer inspection.

Of all the model organisms, C. Elegans is far and away the most amazing.

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#125

Post by HiBloo »

Ethcad wrote: post #123
tim333 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, according to the article.

No, it said oldest living animals.

Works are from Animal kingdom. So yeah, the oldest living animal in that way. Oldest bacteria is over half a million years old.

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#126

Post by pavel_lishin »

zaarn wrote: post #119
scandox wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tierchen is surely cuter than just Animal? Like maybe like critter or beastie?

Yes. "Tier" would be an animal of sorts. "chen" is a common suffix for cutiefying something or indicate it's small (and adorable). "Tierchen" would be a cute animal, usually a small one too. The suffixes "-lein" und "-erl" function similarly but have been largely replaced in common german (though in southern germany, both are alive and well)

I assuem that's the "-lein" in "Fraulein"? Is "-erl" the masculine version?

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#127

Post by sushimako »

zaarn wrote: post #119
scandox wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tierchen is surely cuter than just Animal? Like maybe like critter or beastie?

Yes. "Tier" would be an animal of sorts. "chen" is a common suffix for cutiefying something or indicate it's small (and adorable). "Tierchen" would be a cute animal, usually a small one too. The suffixes "-lein" und "-erl" function similarly but have been largely replaced in common german (though in southern germany, both are alive and well)

The linguistic term for what you are describing is "diminutive".

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#128

Post by eletious »

SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #118
mesozoic wrote: post #12

Wow I bet those worms are so confused. Imagine when they showed them smart phones! Probably like that movie Encino man (when do we get Encino man 2?)

Ah, the school summer holidays. Such an exciting time for HN comments.

Reminds me of the Eternal September...

Re: Worms frozen in permafrost for up to 42,000 years come back to life

#130

Post by taejo »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #126
zaarn wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. "Tier" would be an animal of sorts. "chen" is a common suffix for cutiefying something or indicate it's small (and adorable). "Tierchen" would be a cute animal, usually a small one too. The suffixes "-lein" und "-erl" function similarly but have been largely replaced in common german (though in southern germany, both are alive and well)

I assuem that's the "-lein" in "Fraulein"? Is "-erl" the masculine version?

It is the "-lein" in "Fräulein", but "-lein" isn't only for feminine nouns: the word "Männlein" also exists. I suspect "-erl" is the same, though I don't speak a dialect where it's used; some dialects have "-l" or "-li" which can also attach to any gender of noun (as in "Hansl" and "Gretl")
Post reply on HN