Plant brought back to life after 32,000 years

[Still Waters]

Scientists are investigating how an Arctic plant was brought back to life after 32,000 years.

The silene stenophylla, a plant with white flowers native to Siberia, was revived from 32,000-year-old seeds by Russian scientists.

They were found covered in ice 124ft below the permafrost and regenerated in glass vials.

But now Austrian scientists are trying to map the genomes of the age-old plants to determine how the seeds were able to survive for so long.

https://news.sky.com/story/scientists-investigate-how-arctic-plant-was-brought-back-to-life-after-32-000-years-12018499

[lightly]

That is absolutely amazing.   Life in any seed is amazing enough, but 32,000 yr. old seeds?    Always makes me wonder if Life is IN the seed?...or Enters the seed?    Or a combination or mixture of both. ??

with us...it is a combination ?   Something alive...entering or merging with something alive?  

Anyway,     Happy Birthday!*  silene stenophylla 

[jethrofloyd]

Amazing! Next.....mammoth?

[SHaYap]

More likely microbes like viruses and bacteria... 

~

[+susieice]

Amazing! Beautiful flower!

[NCC1701]

Who wants flowers 32000 years old..

[Rockc819]

2020 isn't the right year to bring 32,000 year old things back to life

[Poncho_Peanatus]

lovely, I want more. Bring them all back

[Sojo]

I've often wondered about this and questioned it in other forum at another site.

Consider a bean for instance (Navy, Pinto, Lima, etc. or any other seed for that matter). When the bean was growing in its pod on the plant, it was definitely alive. Once removed from the plant and dried, it really isn't considered "alive" any more. I mean there isn't any development, or cell division, or any other metabolic activity. If the dried bean were kept dry for a thousand years, it wouldn't be any more alive.

Now if we put the dried bean into fertile soil and add water (or even just place and keep the bean in water), then the water obviously soaks into the bean and causes something to happen that then causes life to sprout. What is the impetus or the source of this kindling of life?

Does either the oxygen or hydrogen in the water cause some kind of chemical reaction in the dehydrated DNA or mitochondria of the bean's germ cells? Does something cause the mitochondria to "ignite" and begin releasing energy that then kick-starts the other cell organelles into doing their thing? At what point has life been created, revived, resurrected?

Of course the fact that water is required for life as we generally know it could mean that there is something inherent in water itself that gives rise to life. But, it still seems that the water of life must be combined with some other specifically organized ingredient(s).

I wonder if the scientists will ever get it figured out.

Edited July 4, 2020 by Sojo
Edit to correct quotation marks and apostrophes. Evidently they don't cut and paste well.

[AlphaGeek]

I knew I planted those seeds too deep.

[Jon the frog]

On 7/4/2020 at 8:15 AM, Sojo said:

I've often wondered about this and questioned it in other forum at another site.

Consider a bean for instance (Navy, Pinto, Lima, etc. or any other seed for that matter). When the bean was growing in its pod on the plant, it was definitely alive. Once removed from the plant and dried, it really isn't considered "alive" any more. I mean there isn't any development, or cell division, or any other metabolic activity. If the dried bean were kept dry for a thousand years, it wouldn't be any more alive.

Now if we put the dried bean into fertile soil and add water (or even just place and keep the bean in water), then the water obviously soaks into the bean and causes something to happen that then causes life to sprout. What is the impetus or the source of this kindling of life?

Does either the oxygen or hydrogen in the water cause some kind of chemical reaction in the dehydrated DNA or mitochondria of the bean's germ cells? Does something cause the mitochondria to "ignite" and begin releasing energy that then kick-starts the other cell organelles into doing their thing? At what point has life been created, revived, resurrected?

Of course the fact that water is required for life as we generally know it could mean that there is something inherent in water itself that gives rise to life. But, it still seems that the water of life must be combined with some other specifically organized ingredient(s).

I wonder if the scientists will ever get it figured out.

Seed do breathe at a cellular level. In cellular respiration, the seed uses stored sugars, water and oxygen to burn energy at a cellular level until it germinate, or sprout. In other words, seeds use small amounts of stored energy, staying alive and ‘waiting’ for good conditions to begin to grow. But frozen in the permafrost, it stop breathing and can stay good for a longer time it seems.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Jon the frog

[Poncho_Peanatus]

On 7/4/2020 at 2:15 PM, Sojo said:

I've often wondered about this and questioned it in other forum at another site.

Consider a bean for instance (Navy, Pinto, Lima, etc. or any other seed for that matter). When the bean was growing in its pod on the plant, it was definitely alive. Once removed from the plant and dried, it really isn't considered "alive" any more. I mean there isn't any development, or cell division, or any other metabolic activity. If the dried bean were kept dry for a thousand years, it wouldn't be any more alive.

Now if we put the dried bean into fertile soil and add water (or even just place and keep the bean in water), then the water obviously soaks into the bean and causes something to happen that then causes life to sprout. What is the impetus or the source of this kindling of life?

Does either the oxygen or hydrogen in the water cause some kind of chemical reaction in the dehydrated DNA or mitochondria of the bean's germ cells? Does something cause the mitochondria to "ignite" and begin releasing energy that then kick-starts the other cell organelles into doing their thing? At what point has life been created, revived, resurrected?

Of course the fact that water is required for life as we generally know it could mean that there is something inherent in water itself that gives rise to life. But, it still seems that the water of life must be combined with some other specifically organized ingredient(s).

I wonder if the scientists will ever get it figured out.

I was thinking the same, I was wondering if seeds are "stronger" than we think of or at least some of them. I was looking a documentary on Wollemia Nobilis on youtube also known as Wollemy pine. A tree that went extinct apparently in the Cretaceous, and they found it alive and well in a small wally in Australia in a natural park. There are only to be found at that small piece of dirt at the bottom of a small valley or big sink hole. A helicopter is needed to transport specialist to study that "pine", fascinating stuff. It seems to me there are plenty of these botanical lazarus taxons around, maybe its easier to bring ancient flora back at the right conditions?