NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Popular Science's website.
As discovered in Arctic National Park & Preserve in Alaska, USA, the melting Arctic gives scientists valuable access to long-dead viruses and a way to keep them at bay. After permafrost at Gates of the Arctic National Park thawed, the landscape changed, allowing the Okokmilaga River to flow to the sea. For decades, the Inuit woman, a victim of the 1918 Spanish flu, lay buried in a mass grave under six feet of Alaskan permafrost. But when the frozen ground began to thaw in the 1990s, the Inuit town of Brevig Mission gave scientists permission to dig her up. Her ample body fat kept her lungs insulated against warmer temperatures, helping to preserve the fragments of the virus that lay within. Nexus Media writer, Marlene Cimons, relays in her article, "Thanks to this discovery, researchers were able to decipher the virus’s genetic blueprint, which recently allowed them to understand why the 1918 flu had been so lethal. They say their insights will help public health experts better prepare for the next pandemic." At some point, experts say, they may even find samples of ancient coronaviruses.For more on viruses buried in the Arctic, view the full story.
Alaska, Environmental Issues, Health, National Parks, News, Open Road