Global warming may unleash hidden viruses

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Jeffrey Newman

As global warming melts the world’s ice sheets, scientists are finding viruses hidden for thousands of years, for which humans have no resistance. One group, studying ice-core sections found pathogens that survived in ice for over 140,000 years, its protein overcoat allowing it to live even in extreme cold. Another team of researchers at the University of Idaho is examining whether viruses may have adapted to higher temperatures allowing them to jump species more easily through a process of mutation. Science Daily Jan 2, 2010.