Russian Scientists Revive Plant From 30,000-Year-Old Seeds
An anonymous reader writes "It was an Ice Age squirrel's treasure chamber, a burrow containing fruit and seeds that had been stuck in the Siberian permafrost for over 30,000 years. From the fruit tissues, a team of Russian scientists managed to resurrect an entire plant in a pioneering experiment that paves the way for the revival of other species. The Silene stenophylla is the oldest plant ever to be regenerated, the researchers said, and it is fertile, producing white flowers and viable seeds. ... 'The squirrels dug the frozen ground to build their burrows, which are about the size of a soccer ball, putting in hay first and then animal fur for a perfect storage chamber,' said Stanislav Gubin, one of the authors of the study, who spent years rummaging through the area for squirrel burrows. 'It's a natural cryobank.'"
You don't usually see something like this in your gardening store.
Ezekiel 23:20
Another Ice Age sequel *facepalm*
Delta-Mike November Bravo Tango
Well the question is, how can you know anything about an extinct ecosystem? And therefore, how could you ever assume that you can control it? I mean, you have plants in this building that are poisonous. You picked them because they look good. But these are aggressive living things that have no idea what century they're in, and they'll defend themselves, violently if necessary.
obviously less than ideal conditions, but isn't this an already well known cycle that occurs at the end of every ice age?
Species previously thought extinct (or endangered) reappeared with changes in climate conditions.
Interesting work none the less.
.. plant revives you!
As if we didn't have enough issues with invasive and non-native plant species wreaking havoc on our ecosystems from the stupidity of yester-year? Now we want to revive 30,000 year-old plants and make it worse??? They died for a reason- get over it, move on, do something productive for TODAY.
Am I missing some major potential social or environmental benefit to doing this?
Scientists just come along and steal the food you've had stashed for 30,000 years... being a squirrel is rough.
Apparently they haven't seen this movie in Russia yet
Just what I need - another plant to be allergic to.
"You might as well get your son a ticket to hell as give him a five string banjo." -unknown minister
Take my HELIX FOSSIL. I'll be right back.
Was Scrat's acorn in there too? Did the poor little guy ever get his treasure?
It will spray it's euro toxin at the researchers and take over their bodies with it's spores. commanding it's new plant zombie army to take over the world!
and it will have fabulous parties.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Have we learned NOTHING from Jurassic Park?
Bad news, the plant turns out to be carnivorous. The good news, at least we know why the Mammoths died out.
...I really have to question the idea of bringing back life that ceased to exist thousands, and eventually possibly millions, of years ago. Jurassic Park jokes aside, I hope they will take adequate precautions to not bring back something that could wind up being disastrous on the CURRENT iteration of Earth. I'm all for stuff like this, I just hope they err on the side of caution before bringing back random plants and introducing them into a modern ecosystem that has evolved well beyond when some of those plants will have existed.
"I hope you know how very lucky you are to know me, because I am so incredibly incredible."
Say what you will about Russia, but it is the next China.
They could accelerate it by taking up Mises economics and reducing the influence of the mob.
If it was legal for a US citizen I would help them spike their economy.
JJ
...IT'S OVER 9000!!!
#whatcouldpossiblygowrong
Pi Ran Out
Terminator genes would have made this sort of thing impossible.
"Live as if you'll die tomorrow." Ridiculous. You could die later today.
A bloke round here found a tree MILLIONS of years old and it was still ALIVE. http://www.wollemipine.com/aboutwp.php
I miss you Slashdot--the old Slashdot that is. Your comments used to be insightful and thought provoking. Now I just click on the comments to see if I've rightly guessed the particular flavor of insipid drivel you're producing these days. I know you're still out there somewhere, but like me, I think you lurk because any intelligent and informative comment will just be lost on people whose goal in life is to see "(Score:5, Funny)" after their post title. Where have the scientists, dreamers, geeks and ethical hackers gone? Where did all the CSI watching, fear-mongering, smart ass posers come from? Please let me know if we can meet somewhere, preferably in private, and recapture the glory. You know how to reach me.
The world got stupider my friend, hadn't you noticed?
Perhaps they have the DNA of a species of creature (from the creatures blood) in the body of a mosquito which accidentally fell into some amber. They can extract the DNA of the creature from the blood held in the mosquito and resequence the DNA, adding bits of DNA from ...say a frog or amphibian. But then the animal...creature gets loose on the island, and the people need to get off the island via helicopter because "Danger, objects in mirror are closer than they appear", and I've seen the movie. Still, its impressive what they did. Not like the movie mind you, but still impressive.
worthwFhile. So I
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Is upon us! Make sure to stock up on incendiaries and rations.
When I was at University, the college chapel organ was replaced and, in the interval, the company supplied an electronic organ. The College chaplain took the organist (now a professor at Oxford), pointed at the banjo stop and said "If you ever pull that you're never going to play the organ here again!" I am pretty sure he managed it more than once without the Chaplain noticing a thing.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Since its 300,000 years old from seed to flowering, would that not define it as the world's oldest living thing?
Who owns the copyright?
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
...but how does it TASTE?
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Krynoid
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Seeds_of_Doom
For shame... for shame...
No one remembers their Tom Baker Dr. Who episodes.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Thank you Skrat
It'll mean plenty of jobs to deal with it and scientific progress !
Jurassic Park meets little shop of horrors!
Hope Rick Moranis isnt in this one!