Scientists drilling into sediment beneath the South Pacific Gyre pulled up microbes from seabed layers as old as 101.5 million years. Starved in one of the poorest habitats on Earth, many of the cells were still viable: when given nutrients under oxygen-bearing laboratory conditions, they repaired their metabolism, took up carbon and nitrogen, and began to multiply. They are among the oldest microbial communities ever revived from dormancy.

In 2020, scientists reported that they had drilled into sediment beneath the South Pacific Gyre and recovered microbes from layers as old as 101.5 million years. The sediment had been laid down in the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs still dominated the land. The cells were buried in one of the poorest habitats on Earth, with almost [...] The post Scientists drilling into sediment beneath the South Pacific Gyre pulled up microbes from seabed layers as old as 101.5 million years. Starved in one of the