Scientists are studying a new threat emerging from melting permafrost: ancient viruses.
The authors of the study — published in PLOS Computational Biology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal — used computer simulations to model how ancient viruses could survive, evolve, and persist in our modern-day communities.
This research marks the first "extensive exploration of the ecological risk" these viruses pose, according to the authors.
In many of the simulations conducted in the study of the ancient viruses, researchers found that they could thrive in modern communities without making a catastrophic impact, but still caused "non-negligible ecological change."
This means the viruses most likely to re-emerge successfully could also be the most likely to pose an ecological risk.
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