A giant virus has been brought back to life after being buried in the Siberian permafrost for 30,000 years. A group of French scientists were able to do this after thawing the virus and replicating the culture in a petri dish. This has now opened a window in thinking about other viruses and their potential to come back and haunt us, I mean imagine if small pox came back?

There is no need to worry about this specific virus though, as scientists have already determined that it poses no danger to humans or animals. Tests have shown that what this virus does, is attack amoebas, which are single celled organisms.

It has been described as massive due to the fact that unlike other viruses this particular virus can be seen under a microscope. The discovery shows that despite being buried and frozen under the earth, the virus has become active again.

This begs the question of what else is lurking beneath the frozen depths of the permafrost- Is this a window science has opened that perhaps should have been left closed? What we now know is we should be concerned as this is the first time a virus has become infectious, after being brought back to life by science.

Now we must consider what else is locked in Siberia’s permafrost, and the possible dangers of unlocking it. As it gets warner the thawing out process will continue and more things will be discovered.

A professor by the name of Jean-Michel Claverie stated: "It is a recipe for disaster. If you start having industrial explorations, people will start to move around the deep permafrost layers. Through mining and drilling, those old layers will be penetrated and this is where the danger is coming from."