Russian scientists have found a bacterium in permafrost that holds the key to immortality
The famous reserve "Mamontova Gora" (Republic of Sakha, Yakutia) is a mecca for paleontologists all over the world. There, the bones of many prehistoric animals rest in the frozen ground. And a group of scientists from Moscow State University made another unique discovery there. In samples of permafrost, they found the bacterium Bacillus F, which has been living happily ever after… 3 million years.
We talked with the author of the discovery, Anatoly Brushkov, head of the Department of Geocryology of Moscow State University, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences. He not only believes that the study of this microorganism will provide the key to immortality, but he himself experienced it on himself.
WHY YAKUTIA LOGGES ONLY IN THE NUMBER OF LONG-LIVERS TO THE CAUCASUS
- Anatoly Viktorovich, you have tested the effect of bacteria on yourself. What is the effect. P {margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }
- Not only me, but also my colleagues used the water where these bacteria were located, but the attention to this experience is unjustifiably exaggerated.
Anatoly Brushkov himself has already undergone a course of therapy with the bacterium Bacillus F
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Photo: kp.ru
- Why?
This cannot be considered a real scientific experiment. I can certainly say that I began to feel better and look younger. But a scientific experiment has strict criteria. You need statistics, you need to exclude the impact of other factors that can affect the result. Yes, I did not have a goal to conduct scientific research on myself.
- Did you want to attract attention?
- In no case. It was curious, and I also wanted to make sure it was safe. Unwittingly, such experiments on themselves are carried out by the inhabitants of Yakutia, who use bacteria with river water, which erodes the permafrost. Look at the statistics: in the USSR, Yakutia was second only to Dagestan and Azerbaijan in terms of the number of centenarians. Despite the harsh climate and lack of vegetables. But this is circumstantial evidence. Special studies are needed to substantiate the positive effect.
IMMORTAL MOUSE
- But I know you have experimented on animals and got amazing results (see "WELL AND WELL!").
- Indeed, this microbial culture has beneficial properties. Laboratory mice lived one and a half times longer than ordinary mice - that's good. But there are other beneficial probiotics as well. This is not the goal. We couldn't make the mouse immortal! And we must put the question this way, because our bacterium seems to live for millions of years. And the experiment will be successful if we are able to extend life for a comparable period. What we are doing now is too simple. We essentially transfer bacteria either into the food tract of experimental animals or into their circulatory system. In Canada, for example, they have now released an experimental batch of cosmetics based on bacteria from the permafrost (and a similar American cream is sold even in our stores) - in this case, the components of the destroyed cells get onto the skin. But that's not the right thing to do at all.
- Why?
- This is similar to the experiments of Dr. Bogdanov, who in the 20s of the last century tried to extend the life of old people by transfusing the blood of young people. From the point of view of today's knowledge, this looks a little naive. The key to the mystery of eternal life is quite different.
- What is it?
- We need to understand the mechanism that enables this bacterium (and others have already been found) to survive for millions of years. Because the existence of these microorganisms to a certain extent contradicts the theories of aging. In general terms, most of them boil down to the fact that over time, the ability of a cell to "repair" damaged sections of DNA decreases, the volume of "destruction" grows and it dies. The rate of processes of decay and damage to the genome has been studied. And until recently, we were convinced that nature had not come up with a way to trick the natural cycle of life and death. But suddenly we find cells that can live for millions of years. This is incredible! It seems to me that we should give up everything and do only this, because such research gives extraordinary hope.
The same bacteria that can provide the key to immortality
Photo: wikipedia.org
THE OPENING WILL GO ABROAD?
- What is the superpower of this "bacillus"?
- She, and as it is already clear, some other bacteria, obviously, have some kind of unusual mechanism of protection of the genome (hereditary material contained in the cell). It is not yet known if this mechanism can be used in human cells. Let's say the DNA helix is somehow unimaginably twisted, and for us it is useless. Or there are "locks" that protect the genome from external influences. But it is hoped that we will find an unusually efficient repair mechanism that can be used in our DNA. And then the old woman with the scythe will be left without work.
- Are they interested in your bacteria abroad?
- Leading microbiologists, including America, Europe, Japan, know about this. Some of them work with my samples … It's a pity that our scientists have poor material support. We have to go abroad and try to draw attention to this topic. We may not be in time! It will be a shame: we were on the verge of such an incredible opportunity and did not take advantage of it, because there were not enough resources.
- In other countries, they failed to get this bacterium from the permafrost?
- Ancient permafrost is not found on all continents. Besides Russia, it exists in North America and Antarctica. I know that both Americans and Europeans went there, but not all the results have been published. We have a chance.
- What is the price of the questions?
- Biologists helped me estimate the cost of priority research, I got 15 million.
- Dollars?
- 15 million rubles. And, perhaps, the secret of eternal life will be revealed. My family members smile when I tell them that I will sell what I have and I’ll go at least half the way. They say I will die in poverty.
QUESTION - A RIB
Will the descendants want to revive us?
- Anatoly Viktorovich, now cryonics is gaining momentum: many medical firms in the world offer to preserve people and animals in a state of deep cold. In the hope that in the future they will be able to revive and heal. As a specialist in the study of permafrost, how do you feel about these technologies? P {margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }
- Probably, from the point of view of science, it is not so seditious. Some frog species are known to come to life after being frozen. This is not yet possible with people. But in the future, it is not excluded. In cryonics, something else is surprising. There are few companies in the world that have existed for at least 100 years. And here we can talk about several hundred years, if not about thousands. Will companies that promise a long shelf life be able to survive? Anything can happen in the world: wars, disasters, crises. The electricity could finally be cut off. At the same time, the resources of the Russian permafrost are underestimated. No refrigerator needed. Hundreds of thousands of years, stable temperatures down to even -20 in some places. And the territory of "eternal cold" is 65 percent of the area of our country.
- We can keep several generations of humanity there!
- Theoretically, all generations. But will our descendants want to revive us, given our moral qualities? Now they are beginning to understand what opportunities permafrost opens up. For example, the Norwegians built a seed storage in Svalbard in case of a global catastrophe, the so-called Doomsday Storage. Conservation of animals is the next step. Or people. At least in the form of sperm and egg samples.
WELL WELL
They even survive in vodka!
During the experiments, the Yakut bacterium demonstrated amazing abilities:
- Scientists subjected ancient microorganisms to extreme tests. Bacillus F survived after boiling for 4 hours, and did not die in a 40-degree alcohol solution.
- The experimental mice gained muscle mass faster. In the course of measurements of physical strength (the rodents were lifted by the tail, and at the same time they clung to the "simulator"), they showed results almost twice better than their counterparts from the control group.
- In elderly females reproductive function was restored and they gave birth to mice.
- In Tyumen, dozens of experiments were carried out with dogs that had cancer. After taking medications containing relict microorganisms, the cancer could not be cured. But life expectancy and its quality increased - the dogs kept guarding functions to the last, played with their owners. “Laboratory animals died at the peak of the disease, in one day - without the painful consequences of tumor metastasis. This is also a result,”said Sergei Goltsov, Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Tyumen Scientific Center of the SB RAS.
Yaroslav KOROBATOV