Some ancient microbes frozen with Ötzi the Iceman are still growing
Summary
Ars Technica reports that Ötzi the Iceman’s preserved remains contain live, cold-tolerant microbes, including several yeast species and bacteria, suggesting a living microbiome persisted long after his death. The study uses culture and shotgun metagenomics to show both ancient DNA signals and evidence of more recent microbial activity, raising questions about whether these organisms are relics or revived inhabitants and highlighting Ötzi as a living archive of microbes.