The Amazing Stuff

According to experts, climate change has some pretty dire consequences in store for humans. Even if we halt greenhouse gas production today, the effects will still be felt on this planet for generations to come. Most of us know the usual list of climate change consequences — sea level rise, warmer winters, drought, extreme weather events — but one thing to add to that list is the reemergence of ancient viruses.

Trapped beneath the permafrost of places like Siberia are thousands of ancient microbes that were stuck there when the last ice age set in.

Flickr / NPS Climate Change Response

Now, with temperatures around the world rising thanks to climate change, the permafrost in these spots is not so permanent anymore.

Flickr / Mike Beauregard

This thawing ground has led to discoveries around the world of viruses that are thousands of years old, and possibly deadly to humans.

Wikimedia Commons

For example, the Mollivirus sibericum virus lay dormant under the Siberian tundra for 30,000 years before it was rediscovered by scientists a few years ago.

While these ancient viruses haven’t been shown to infect humans, it’s something we should watch out for.

Wikimedia Commons

Luckily, most of the discovered ancient viruses only target other single celled organisms. Despite that, some researchers are cautioning us to be careful while looking for these viruses. You never know if you might accidentally discover an ancient, deadly form of the flu.

(via Unexplained Mysteries)

The prospect of an ancient virus coming back to kill humanity is more than a little terrifying. Still, it would make for a great movie plot…

If you remember the old TV show House, you know that there are a lot of terrifying, obscure diseases floating around out there.The only good thing about them is that they’re pretty rare.

But sometimes, you’re the unlucky person who happens to catch one. That’s something Redditor gullibletrout and his wife learned the hard way back in 2010.

In 2010, these mysterious black spots began appearing on his wife’s hand.

Imgur / oestk

They started out small, but kept growing.

Imgur / oestk

At first, they thought that the growths were blood blisters.

They even started spreading to other parts of the hand.

Imgur / oestk

Wart remover didn’t do anything for them.

Imgur / oestk

Eventually, they decided to seek medical help from a plastic surgeon.

Imgur / oestk

The doctor promptly removed the growths.

Imgur / oestk

Here’s her hand after the procedure was done.

Imgur / oestk

The spots have not reappeared.

The physician believes that these were pyogenic granuloma.

Imgur / oestk

They can be caused by irritation, physical trauma, or hormonal imbalances. This woman’s case was likely caused by a switch in birth control pills. The good news is that they’re harmless, but in some cases, they have been known to grow back.

(via Reddit)

Even though they turned out to be nothing, can you imagine how scared she must have been when these things started taking over her hand? It’s amazing (and completely unsettling) to think about what our bodies are capable of.