''Carnobacterium pleistocenium'' is a recently discovered

bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were a ...

from the

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...

part of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. It was found in

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surfac ...

, seemingly frozen there for 32,000 years. Melting the ice, however, brought these

extremophiles An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme tempe ...

back to life. This is the first case of an organism "coming back to life" from ancient ice. These bacterial cells were discovered in a tunnel dug by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s to allow scientists to study the permafrost in preparation for the

construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline system The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System included over of oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, and a new tanker port. Built largely on permafrost during 1975–77 between Prudhoe Bay and Valdez, Alaska, the $8 billion effort required te ...

. The discovery of this bacterium is of particular interest for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

, for it may be possible for such life to exist in the permafrost of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

or on the surface of Europa. It is also of interest for

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...

s investigating the potential for cryogenically freezing life forms to reduce the transportation costs (in terms of life support systems) that would be associated with long-duration space travel.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Carnobacterium pleistocenium'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Cryobiology Bacteria described in 2005 {{lactobacilli-stub