Are There Zombie Viruses — Like The 1918 Flu — Thawing In The Permafrost?
Editor's note: There has been speculation in the media and via Twitter that DNA fragments of the now-defunct 1918 flu pathogen could be preserved under the permafrost and might pose a potential threat to humans if the warming Earth continues to melt layers of frozen soil. A couple of years ago, NPR investigated that question: Could this pathogen — and others — be revived? A version of this story originally ran in January 2018.
Zac Peterson was on the adventure of a lifetime.
The 25-year-old teacher was helping archaeologists excavate an 800-year-old log cabin, high above the Arctic Circle on the northern coast of Alaska.
They had pitched tents right on the beach. Over the course of a month, Peterson watched a gigantic pod of beluga whales swim along the beach, came face-to-face with a hungry polar bear invading their campsite and helped dig out the skull of a rare type of polar bear.
But the most memorable thing happened right at the end of that summer trip.
"I noticed a red spot on the front of my leg," Peterson says. "It was about the size of a dime. It felt hot and hurt to touch."
The spot grew
