By Jeffrey P. Lee
Jeffrey P. Lee discusses the work of researchers, military operators, and academics analyzing “zombie” viruses in the Arctic.
Disclaimer: This article is an unofficial publication. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Department of Defense, DTRA, USNORTHCOM or NORAD.
It sounds like a movie plot: soldiers, scientists, and academics conducting experiments in the high Arctic on ancient bacteria and viruses trapped in permafrost, but when thawed, might contain so-called “sleeping” or “zombie” viruses.
These uncharacterized microorganisms and viruses could carry the potential for pathogenesis – the ability to contribute to the onset of disease and emerging threats. In this case, the movie plot could have been named “Pleistocene Park” instead of the more familiar Hollywood blockbuster, “Jurassic Park”.
It is well documented that the Arctic is warming at unprecedented rates because of global climate change, resulting in thawing of large tracts of permafrost soil. As permafrost thaws, there are many unknowns, and we lack detailed knowledge of the potential risks to defense and security operations, especially in polar regions. Research on underlying increased disease prevalence in the Arctic is limited as well, and broader research efforts in this area, especially on uncatalogued and now dormant microorganisms’ effects on human health and the environment, is warranted.
Awakened “zombie” viruses and pathogens could be viable, or worse manipulated into novel threats. Advances in technology and the awareness of these remote, but potential threats, will better enable us to detect, deter, and defeat risks to humans, animals, and plants. The Arctic is of vital strategic importance and plays a crucial role in not only our U.S. national, but our allies’ security.
Professionals from a variety of prestigious organizations came together from February 20-27, 2024, in both Fairbanks and Fox, Alaska, to conduct experiments using Far-Forward Advanced Sequencing Technology (F-FAST) developed jointly by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the U.S. Army Development Command’s Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC). The experiments took place in extreme cold weather and arctic conditions primarily in the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Permafrost Tunnels.
The Tunnels and affiliated facilities are among the premier research and development centers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are available to partners. The Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility featured frozen permafrost, ice wedges, ice lenses, and other permafrost features including ancient frozen microbes, dead plant material, and, yes, ancient bison, mammoth, and horse bones from the Pleistocene Epoch.
A large number of state and academic institutions participated in the experimentation. These included: DTRA; DEVCOM CBC; U.S. Special Operations Command; the 82nd Chemical Reconnaissance Detachment; Alaska-based units including the 11th Airborne Division Command Surgeon; the 103rd Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team; research biologists from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, New Hampshire; Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Applied Biological Sciences experts; the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Biological Technologies Office; the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity; the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Public Health, and Preventive Medicine; the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health; and the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
Nanopore Sequencing Technology
This extensive group sought to further test F-FAST and better develop procedures for sampling, detection, and monitoring in a more systematic approach using the testing platform called the MinION. Simulated bio-agents and even ancient Arctic permafrost isolate samples – which were just recently sequenced by the Naval Research Laboratory – were rapidly analyzed. The military utility of such nanopore sequencing includes portability, small size, and capability to identify any biological pathogens utilizing large databases containing thousands of organisms including emerging pathogens and even genetically modified threats. The “bio sample” to “answer” sequence is accomplished in less than 90 minutes, allowing for stand-alone bioinformatics and decision management.
Nanopore Sequencing Technology is among the most cutting-edge for rapidly analyzing a biological pore the size of a single strand of nucleotides (DNA or RNA) using a small electrical current applied across the sample. The nucleotides uniquely fit into a channel, disrupting the current, and the modulation is measured whereby DNA/RNA molecules are rapidly identified and mapped against a sequence database.
U.S. Department of Defense specialized teams have previously sequenced biological pores using this technology and obtained the correct identification within 10 minutes of sequencing in desert extremes. The team in Alaska noted that battery life, equipment durability, and sample preparation were all pushed to extremes in this cold, Arctic location. Meanwhile, partners observing this experiment noted the applicability to wastewater sequencing and other practical uses.
Practical experiment observations included the quick analysis of both liquid and petri dish cultured permafrost bacteria samples, thus demonstrating that novel pathogens could be tested similarly. The permafrost isolates prepared for this experimentation dated to the Pleistocene era, were newly cultured or “reanimated”, and their DNA/RNA sequences were entered in the F-FAST database for the first time ever.
Applicability to Astrobiology and More
Soldiers from both the 11th Airborne Division and 103rd WMD-CST shared expedient practices on thawing frozen samples for testing, for example by using commercial handwarmers. Testing can be performed in the extreme cold, in full CBRN protection gear, and even in total darkness thanks to soldiers using their night vision devices inside the tunnel. Medical professionals observed the possible practicality for greater environmental testing of deployed forces for force health protection, and academics in attendance were able to observe means to characterize and then notionally defeat biomanufactured technologies.
Biothreat characterization of Arctic samples has applicability that even includes astrobiology and automated far-forward sample interrogation in outer space. This is technology that has potential application for searching for life not only in permafrost, but has implications for the search for life on Mars or other possible astrobiological mission concepts.
The author would like to thank the broad partnership and collaboration during this event addressing potential new threats in the Arctic. The investigations into recent technology will better enable the Department of Defense and our interagency partners to address existing known and emerging biological threats.
The F-FAST experimentation that took place in Alaska builds on seminal efforts hosted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and the University of Idaho Center for Resilient Communities, in partnership with USNORTHCOM, which held an inaugural Permafrost and Pathogens working group this past November 2023. This working group brought together military operators, medical professionals, academic scientists, and cold regions scientists and engineers, including DTRA participants, to establish a knowledge baseline from which the implications for human health and the sustainment of operations in an evolving Arctic environment can be assessed and developed.
DTRA collaboration in these endeavors supports DTRA Director’s strategic initiative to counter emerging and novel biological threats. Thankfully, no “polar pathogens” of dire concern were encountered during this experiment, and no new Hollywood script proffered!
Jeffrey P. Lee is DTRA’s Senior Combatant Command Representative to NORAD and USNORTHCOM.
