Anthrax, a bacteria usually found deep within Antarctica ices, was discovered in a Siberian child in 2016. New genomes of smallpox and the Spanish flu were found from ancient biological samples, got reconstructed and are ready to take their toll on humanity as well.
Antarctica, a freezing and inhabitable ecosystem, has been home to ice and snow fall for about 15 million years. Despite this, Antarctica became home to flowers – a spectacle that hints to the world that drastic measures need to be taken immediately. Although flowers are a sign of peace and love, they are Earth’s way of telling us that we are headed in the wrong direction towards a possible mass extinction.
Scientists are actively tracking Antarctica to spot new microbes and bacteria which could be dangerous for human life. However, we disregard the main cause for the new vegetation and growth of frozen bacteria: Climate Change. Since 1850, average global temperatures have increased by 2° Fahrenheit, which has been thawing and warming up our Earth faster. Carbon dioxide emissions have been clogging up our atmosphere, thickening it and driving up temperatures globally putting some life forms at risk. With oceans heating up causes some fish and oxygen producing organisms to die out, potentially disrupting our current cycle of oxygen and being deadly for humans. Flowers in Antarctica should raise concerns for society that action must be taken on how we live our current lives if we want to preserve our ideal living conditions with abundances of food and water.
Growth of vegetation in Antarctica means that climate change has become severe where the Earth has become so hot that not only are glaciers melting at alarming rates, but they’re allowing for what should preserve some of life’s most dangerous forms to be free. Melting ice caps and vegetation entails new bacteria and microorganisms coming out to play from their icy rest, which may be fatal to humans and animals.
New bacterium like Anthrax have been known for being hostile towards the human body and infecting it easily. Ancient bacteria could use unique genomes the human body has never seen to penetrate and be fatal for humanity. New releases of organisms can be deadly to humans, however, some might be beneficial. The microbe, known as The Sea Squirt, produces palmerolide, which could potentially treat melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. The Sea Squirt was found living in Antarctic Coastal Waters, where it was released from the melting of Antarctica.
Bluntly stated, although some organisms released from the melting ice caps might be beneficial in medical advancements towards diseases, they present more deadly ancient bacterias which can easily infect the human body. By recognizing how to care and preserve our planet is how humanity survives.
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