--- title: 30,000 Year Old Virus Revived From Siberia description: A 30,000 year old virus has been discovered and studied by French researchers from a Siberian permafrost. canonical: https://time.com/4026956/old-virus-siberia/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-09T18:01:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:44.423Z article:section: Health og:title: 30,000-Year-Old Virus Discovered in Siberia og:description: Scientists plan to bring it back to life og:url: https://time.com/4026956/old-virus-siberia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5774e18f42f9f47d/6988604c8e0601690e461fdf/lab-beaker-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1000 og:image:height: 563 og:image:alt: lab-beaker-health-illo.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 30,000-Year-Old Virus Discovered in Siberia twitter:description: Scientists plan to bring it back to life twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5774e18f42f9f47d/6988604c8e0601690e461fdf/lab-beaker-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 30,000-Year-Old Virus Discovered in Siberia > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=a41bdb14-76c4-44fd-ad8c-1d289083cbcf&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 9, 2015 6:01 PM UTC  Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 9, 2015 6:01 PM UTC French scientists are studying a 30,000-year-old virus after they discovered it in Siberian permafrost. In new research [published](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/09/02/1510795112.abstract) in the journal, _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,_ researchers studied a so-called “giant virus” called _Mollivirus sibericum_ discovered in the frozen permafrost. It’s the fourth “giant” virus found and analyzed since 2003\. The researchers say the discovery could be of concern in the face of climate change and melting ice. “A few viral particles that are still infectious may be enough, in the presence of a vulnerable host, to revive potentially pathogenic viruses,” one of the lead researchers, Jean-Michel Claverie, [told AFP](http://www.afp.com/en/news/frankenvirus-emerges-siberias-frozen-wasteland). A virus can be called “giant” if it’s longer than half a micron or 0.00002 of an inch, according to AFP. The researchers plan to “revive” the virus in a safe laboratory setting. They will place it in a single cell amoeba in order to research it. \[[AFP](http://www.afp.com/en/news/frankenvirus-emerges-siberias-frozen-wasteland)\] ### How the Polio Vaccine Trials Relieved a Worried Nation  Caption from LIFE. Working under glass for extra safety, technician begins vaccine process with kidney tissue. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Polio vaccine production, 1955. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Polio vaccine production, 1955. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Polio vaccine production, 1955. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In incubator room, test tubes of vaccine samples rotate slowly in drums for seven days under controlled temperature. The samples are then analyzed. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. To kill virus, worker makes up formaldehyde solution which is pumped into tube overhead simultaneously with vaccine-to-be from tank. When throughly mixed, liquid goes back into tank where formaldehyde does its work. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Potency test is performed with monkey who gets injections of vaccine just as children. Blood sample is examined to see if antibodies have formed. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Polio vaccine production, 1955. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Polio vaccine production, 1955. Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Child receiving a polio vaccination, 1955. 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