• According to a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics on Thursday, a team of researchers has revived a millimeter-long roundworm, or nematode, frozen for 46K years in Siberian permafrost. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• The roundworm was reportedly pulled out from 40 meters (131.2 feet) below the surface in the Siberian permafrost, where researchers claim it stayed frozen by entering a dormant state called cryptobiosis. CNN
• Scientists say organisms in a cryptobiotic state can reduce their metabolism to an undetectable level to withstand life-threatening conditions, such as a lack of water and oxygen or extremely hot and cold temperatures. CNN
• By very slowly and gently thawing the roundworm, researchers reanimated it enough to wriggle around, eat, and reproduce parthenogenetically, or asexually. Global News
• The age of the previously unknown roundworm was calculated by radiocarbon dating its plant matter found in the permafrost. The researchers have now dubbed it Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, after the Kolyma River in Russia, where they were discovered. Smithsonian Magazine
• The study builds on prior research published in 2018 when researchers revived two types of microscopic nematodes — Panagrolaimus and Plectus — estimated to be 42K years old. Livescience.Com

Narrative A:

• This scientific breakthrough could reveal secrets of the cryptobiosis process various organisms use to stay dormant or suspend life over geological time scales. Understanding how these species adapted to the extremities through evolution could one day lead to improved conservation efforts for endangered species, especially in the face of global warming and record-breaking heat.
  Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Narrative B:

• As climate change warms the Earth's permafrost, just as the nematode — which was supposed to have frozen in Siberian permafrost when Neanderthals still walked the Earth — was revived, more dangerous pathogens frozen for millennia could also emerge from melting ice, evolve when released in the modern world, cause diseases that modern humans lack immunity to, and wreak havoc on ecosystems.
  Forbes (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 50% chance that the Arctic will be essentially ice-free by May 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)