Meet the Scientist Who Injected Himself With 3.5 Million-Year-Old Bacteria (vice.com)

Press2ToContinue writes with this profile of Anatoli Brouchkov, a scientist who isn't afraid to take an extremely hands-on approach to science. Vice reports: "Anatoli Brouchkov is a soft-spoken guy with silver hair, and when he lets out a reserved chuckle, his eyes light up like he was belly laughing. If you met him on the street, you'd never guess that he once injected himself with a 3.5 million-year-old strain of bacteria, just to see what would happen. According to Brouchkov, Bacillus F has a mechanism that has enabled it to survive for so long beneath the ice, and that the same mechanism could be used to extend human life, too—perhaps, one day, forever. In tests, Brouchkov says the bacteria allowed female mice to reproduce at ages far older than typical mice. Fruit flies, he told the Siberian Times, also experienced a 'positive impact' from exposure to the bacteria."

Comments

So he's a crank?

[Eunuchswear]

According to Brouchkov, Bacillus F has a mechanism that has enabled it to survive for so long beneath the ice, and that the same mechanism could be used to extend human life, too—perhaps, one day, forever.

Nutter.

Re:So he's a crank?

[Bengie]

Since something like 99.99% of bacteria is harmless to humans and this bacteria predates humans, he just wanted to see how quickly his immune system would destroy it.

Russians

[Crowd Computing]

Russian roulette, vodka, communism, zombie bacteria, Vladimir Putin -- Russians really know how to take risks.

Too unique

[GbrDead]

> If you met him on the street, you'd never guess that he once injected himself with a 3.5 million-year-old strain of bacteria...

  Well, I wouldn't guess this for anybody.