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Bacteria Frozen 5,000 Years in Romanian Cave Resists 10 Antibiotics

Psychrobacter SC65A.3 from a 5,000-year-old Romanian ice cave resists 10 antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance genes, posing both risk and biotechnological potential.

  • Today the Institute of Biology Bucharest published a Frontiers in Microbiology study documenting Psychrobacter SC65A.3 isolated from 5,000-year-old Scărișoara Ice Cave ice and tested for antibiotic resistance.
  • The team drilled a 25-meter ice core from the Great Hall, kept ice fragments sterile, isolated strains in the lab, and sequenced genomes to link genes to cold survival and antimicrobial activity.
  • Genomic analysis found over 100 resistance-related genes and almost 600 genes of unknown function, with resistance to ten modern antibiotics including ciprofloxacin, and 1 gene with antimicrobial potential.
  • Scientists warned melting ice could release resistance genes into modern bacteria, while researchers say enzymes and antimicrobial compounds offer biotech potential and call for lab safety and further research.
  • With warming glaciers and caves, researchers say the findings raise urgent global questions as climate change and thawing frozen environments could reawaken dormant microbes, while antibiotic resistance causes 1.27 million deaths annually, underscoring the need for monitoring ancient genomes and evolutionary insight.
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In Romania, researchers discovered a bacterium of 5,000 years old. It is resistant to current antibiotics. Vincent Valinducq's explanations in "Hello! Morning TF1". - A bacterium of 5,000 years old, resistant to antibiotics, was discovered in Romania (Health and well-being).

Romanian scientists spotted a 5,000-year-old bacterium in samples collected from the depths of the Scărișoara Ice Cave that has not been exposed to modern medical advances, but is still able to defy several antibiotics.

·Estonia
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Lean Left

Researchers have discovered a 5,000-year-old strain of bacteria in the deep ice of a cave in Romania that is resistant to ten modern antibiotics, and scientists say the discovery could contribute to understanding the spread of antimicrobial resistance, as well as the development of new types of therapies.

·Belgrade, Serbia
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Frontiers broke the news in Switzerland on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
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