400-Year-Old Moss Comes Back to Life

 

It's alive! Catherine La Farge, a biologist from the University of Alberta, has discovered 400 year old moss, underneath layers of rocks and mud in the icy depths of Canada's Arctic North that still has life in it!

 

When La Farge first spotted the ancient moss in the Teardrop Glacier, she wasn't sure it was still alive. It looked lifeless and discoloured. After all, the moss was buried a long time ago. La Farge and her team radiocarbon dated the moss to be from the Little Ice Age period, circa 1550-1850! Most researchers would have assumed  it was dead.

 

But she had a feeling the moss was special and conducted some research in her lab to confirm her suspicions. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a tiny green stem, which could mean one of two things: the moss kept its green colour under the glacier or that the moss grew 400 years later. 

 

To test whether the moss still had life in it, she put the moss in petri dishes, added soil and watched for signs of life. Along with the help of some sunlight and air, over the course of 4-6 weeks, tiny green strands began to grow and take form! She was able to bring the plant back to life!

 

This incredible discovery has important implications for other scientists and researchers. Previously, plants buried in the Arctic were largely ignored because no one has ever thought that buried land plants could survive beyond Ice Age. This new research gives reasons to believe there could be populations of plants in the glaciers waiting to be discovered.

 

News Source: Edmonton Journal

 

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• A Plant Resurrection 30 000 Years in the Making (growerdirect.com)