Scientists brought a 32,000-year-old plant back to life

A 32,000-year-old plant, Silene stenophylla, blossoms inside a glass in a laboratory at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of Vienna (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria.

Plant biotechnologist Professor Margit Laimer from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of Vienna (BOKU) looks at the 32,000-year-old plant flowering inside a glass in a laboratory at BOKU University in Vienna, Austria, June 30, 2020. Lisi Niesner /VCG

The seeds were unearthed about 124 feet (38 meters) below the permafrost. The ancient plant was first regenerated in 2012, now the team is trying to map the plant's genome to figure out why the seeds were able to stay alive for so long.

The plants are regenerated in glass in a laboratory at BOKU University in Vienna, Austria, June 30, 2020. Lisi Niesner /VCG

Silene stenophylla, commonly called narrow-leafed campion, is a species of flowering plant in the pink family that grows in the Arctic tundra of Far Eastern Siberia and the mountains of northern Japan.

(All images via VCG)

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