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Prehistoric bacteria revived

January 3, 1996

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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.

See the article in its original context from January 1996.

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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (AP)-A.U.S. microbiologist claims he has revived bacteria dormant for more than $25 million years inside amber rocks found in the Dominican Republic. Raun Cano, a microbiologist with the Polytechnic State University of California, said the micro-organisms were found inside a fossilised bee.

The story will appear in Discover magazine in its January issue, according to the daily Listin Diario. The bee apparently was trapped by resin leaked by a tree. The resin eventually hardened to become amber, a yellowish, clear rock used mostly as a decoration. The rock's value goes up if it has an insect inside, because it can contain valuable genetic material. Cano said the insect died immediately but the bacteria survived in its belly in a state of suspended animation. The micro-organisms are similar to the bacillus sphaericus.

Some bacteria in times of stress build a protective sack around them and diminish their functions, looking as if they were dead.