A recent article in the New York Times reported on the successful revival of a narrow-leafed campion from deposits of the late Pleistocene. Russian paleontologists had discovered seeds and fruits of the plant in river bed sediments of eastern Siberia, apparently buried by a ground squirrel; radiocarbon dating of the seeds indicated that they were first entombed about 32,000 years ago, when humans were displacing Neanderthals in Europe and Denisovans in eastern Asia.
While efforts to germinate the seeds were unsuccessful, the scientists were able to thaw and culture placental cells from the fruit, yielding mature plants that flowered and produced new seed; these descendent seeds were then planted to yield another generation of campions. According to the article, the Russian scientists speculate that the Pleistocene plant material was buried in soil just above the permafrost layer, favoring its prolonged viability; in addition, sugars and phenols within the plant tissue served as an antifreeze, protecting cellular structure.
Though this story focuses on what appears to be a record for ancient plant revival, it says more about the nature of life itself. Rather than some mystical or spiritual property, life is a physical process, requiring just the right biochemistry and environment in which to flourish. Governed by DNA and coordinated by neurovascular networks, the stem cells of life give rise to complete organisms and, as this event revealed, may do so after long periods of dormancy. We humans are just beginning to understand the potential benefits of this knowledge and, if not derailed by the forces of religious mysticism, stem cell research will play a major role in the future of agriculture and health care.
