The Revenge of the 'Godae Virus'... "Concerns Over Ecosystem Disruption"

Exposure of Permafrost Due to Climate Change
Simulation Results Show Up to 32% Decrease in Species Diversity

An international research team affiliated with the University of Helsinki in Finland and the University of Michigan in the United States has announced research findings that ancient viruses, released as the permafrost sealed by climate change melts, could cause significant disruption to ecosystems.

According to CNN, on the 18th (local time), the international research team published these findings last month in the online scientific journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Organic material of a 40,000-year-old baby donkey emerging from the permafrost.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Permafrost refers to soil that has remained at or below 0 degrees Celsius for more than two consecutive years. Regions such as Greenland, Alaska, and the Tibetan Plateau, which are located at high altitudes or latitudes, are typical examples. These soils contain ancient viruses or pathogens buried tens of thousands of years ago. The researchers stated that as climate change causes the permafrost to melt, these ancient viruses or pathogens could leak into ecosystems.

The research team observed the impact of ancient viruses on ecosystems through digital modeling. After running tens of thousands of simulations examining interactions between ancient viruses and modern bacteria, the results showed that 1% of the ancient viruses used in the study could cause disruptions that reduce species diversity by up to 32%.

CNN reported that even 1% is an astronomical figure considering that the number of cells released from the permafrost reaches 4 sextillion (10 to the 21st power).

In the simulations, these ancient viruses survived and reproduced by obtaining energy through hosts, similar to parasites. Some bacteria used as hosts were affected, leading to a decrease in species diversity. Moreover, ancient viruses that successfully established themselves in existing ecosystems did not die off over time but continued to evolve.

The problem is that as the Earth's average temperature continues to rise, permafrost thawing is expected to occur more frequently. Giovanni Strona, the lead researcher, and Cory Bradshaw, a co-author of the paper, stated, "The reawakening of ancient viruses does not mean that humanity will be immediately infected and threatened by these viruses," but added, "It is true that concerns related to climate change are increasing."

The research team warned, "Our findings suggest that threats previously confined to science fiction and speculation could become a powerful driver of ecosystem changes," while also noting that further research is needed to determine exactly how permafrost thawing will affect human or animal populations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.