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Faygo Kid

(21,478 posts)
Mon Feb 20, 2012, 06:43 PM Feb 2012

Dead for 32,000 Years, a Plant Is Revived

Living plants have been generated from the fruit of a little arctic flower, the narrow-leafed campion, that died 32,000 years ago, a team of Russian scientists reports. The fruit was stored by an arctic ground squirrel in its burrow on the tundra of northeastern Siberia and lay permanently frozen until excavated by scientists a few years ago.

This would be the oldest plant by far that has ever been grown from ancient tissue. The present record is held by a date palm grown from a seed some 2,000 years old that was recovered from the ancient fortress of Masada in Israel.

Seeds and certain cells can last a long term under the right conditions, but many claims of extreme longevity have failed on closer examination, and biologists are likely to greet this claim, too, with reserve until it can be independently confirmed. Tales of wheat grown from seeds in the tombs of the pharaohs have long been discredited. Lupines were germinated from seeds in a 10,000-year-old lemming burrow found by a gold miner in the Yukon. But the seeds, later dated by the radiocarbon method, turned out to be modern contaminants. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/science/new-life-from-an-arctic-flower-that-died-32000-years-ago.html?_r=1&hp

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Dead for 32,000 Years, a Plant Is Revived (Original Post) Faygo Kid Feb 2012 OP
Kewl! Now if we could just bring back mammoths...! Johnny Rico Feb 2012 #1
This message was self-deleted by its author Tesha Feb 2012 #3
Yeah, but when? I've been reading about it for...what, 20 years now? Johnny Rico Feb 2012 #4
So cool. Arugula Latte Feb 2012 #2
Damn. Wait Wut Feb 2012 #5
or one that flobee1 Feb 2012 #7
how long flobee1 Feb 2012 #6
Cool! Nt xchrom Feb 2012 #8
cool. such a pretty little flower Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2012 #9
Delicate and so pretty n/t KT2000 Feb 2012 #10
Amazing! cantbeserious Feb 2012 #11

Response to Johnny Rico (Reply #1)

 

Johnny Rico

(1,438 posts)
4. Yeah, but when? I've been reading about it for...what, 20 years now?
Mon Feb 20, 2012, 06:54 PM
Feb 2012

How close are we to actually cloning mammoths? I just did a quick bit of browsing, and found this:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/17/scientists-trying-to-clone-resurrect-extinct-mammoth/?hpt=T2

The scientists in this story say they're about 6 years from being able to clone a mammoth. Here's hoping!

Wait Wut

(8,492 posts)
5. Damn.
Mon Feb 20, 2012, 06:57 PM
Feb 2012

I was hoping it was a flesh-eater. Like the one from Little Shop of Horrors.

It's pretty, though, for something that doesn't eat Republicans.

Tuesday Afternoon

(56,912 posts)
9. cool. such a pretty little flower
Mon Feb 20, 2012, 07:01 PM
Feb 2012

reminded me of edelweiss...not really close but, a little white flower nonetheless:

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