Trending Now - Ancient 24,000-year-old 'zombie Worm' Brought Back to Life and Reproduces

WHO:

Fox News - Lead researcher Stas Malavin is involved in the study.

WHAT:

Fox News - Scientists revived a 24,000-year-old microscopic organism known as a rotifer from Siberian permafrost.

Yahoo - The rotifer was able to reproduce asexually after being revived.

Yahoo - The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

WHERE:

Fox News - The organism was discovered in Siberian permafrost, specifically within the Yedoma formation.

WHEN:

Yahoo - The rotifer dates back to the Late Pleistocene, which ended approximately 11,700 years ago.

Yahoo - The organism has been frozen for 24,000 years.

WHY:

Yahoo - The revival of the rotifer provides insights into how life can endure extreme conditions over vast stretches of time.

HOW:

Yahoo - The rotifer was carefully thawed under controlled laboratory conditions.

Fox News - The process that allowed the rotifer to survive is known as cryptobiosis, where metabolic activity slows to nearly zero, enabling survival in extreme environments.

(UPDATED April 25, 2026 15:12 UTC)

Scientists have successfully revived a 24,000-year-old microscopic organism known as a rotifer, which was discovered in Siberian permafrost within the Yedoma formation. Lead researcher Stas Malavin noted that the rotifer was able to reproduce asexually after being thawed under controlled laboratory conditions, shedding light on how life can endure extreme conditions over vast stretches of time. This remarkable study, published in the journal Current Biology, highlights the process of cryptobiosis, where metabolic activity slows to nearly zero, allowing organisms to survive for millennia.