Scientists attempt to recreate 50,000-year-old ancient 'herpes' viruses
Neanderthal
Imagine 50,000-year-old ancient viruses coming back to haunt us, the modern humans. This may soon be a reality, as scientists attempt to recreate viruses that used to plague our Neanderthal ancestors.
Why recreate dangerous ancient viruses?
Scientists want to recreate the viruses to study them.
Marcelo Briones, the lead author of the study, said they plan to try to synthesise the "Jurassic Park-like viruses" to see how they compare to modern ones.
They found the ancient viruses locked within the approximately 50,000-year-old bones of two male Neanderthals unearthed in a cave in Russia’s Altai mountains.
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Were they able to identify the viruses?
As per reports, the ancient viruses scientists found were remnants of herpesvirus (responsible for cold sores), the sexually transmitted papillomavirus, and the adenovirus (commonly causing colds).
The discovery was made in the Chagyrskaya cave, where a group of nine related Neanderthalremains were found in 2022. This group included a daughter and her father, as well as other relatives. Their DNA has provided insights into their genetic makeup and potential causes of their extinction. Experts have long believed that Neanderthals may have gone extinct due to viruses.
Talking to NewScientist, lead author Briones said that he was "sceptical that this (the recreation) could be achieved given the lack of full understanding of how the viruses' DNA is damaged and how to reconstruct the recovered pieces into a full viral genome."
"Also, the host-virus interaction, especially in a completely different environment, is something to consider," he added.
The findings suggest that herpesviruses might have played a significant role in the extinction of Neanderthals, although further testing is required to confirm this hypothesis.
"Herpesviruses, in particular, might have been a major cause for Neanderthal extinction," said scientists.
The presence of these viruses in Neanderthal DNA, free from contamination by animals or modern humans, supports the idea that "these viruses might represent viruses that really infected Neanderthals."
This research could potentially shed more light on the factors that contributed to the extinction of Neanderthals around 40,000 years ago.
(With inputs from agencies)
