Well, this sure is an interesting headline, isn’t it? When I first heard about this story, I assumed this action was taken for some kind of test, but I’m wrong.
Russian doctor Anatoli Brouchkov injected himself with 3.5-million-year-old bacteria because he believes it will help him live longer.
Dr. Brouchkov discovered the ancient bacteria known as Bacillus F back in 2009. The bacteria was found frozen in the permafrost on a mountain in Siberia (does this sound like a movie plot, or what?). Brouchkov estimated that the bacteria was 3.5-million-years-old and also discovered that it was still alive. The bacteria was frozen deeper in the permafrost than even wooly mammoths.
Brouchkov discovered that Bacillus F makes things around it live longer, as well. Tests have shown that the bacteria has indeed caused mice, fruit flies, and crops to live longer. Also, the people in the region of Siberia where the bacteria was found live longer than average-and it might be because Bacillus F is in their water supply.
So Dr. Brouchkov decided to be a human guinea pig and be the first person to inject themself with this interesting bacteria. In 2015, two years after he injected himself with Bacillus F, the doctor said he felt better than ever and that he hadn’t gotten the cold or the flu since he took that big step.
Scientists are still working on finding out just what exactly makes Bacillus F causes things to live longer, so it will be a while before this bacteria may be harnessed to benefit the greater good of humanity, if that happens at all.
It’s a pretty amazing story, no doubt about that. Has Dr. Brouchkov discovered the elusive ‘Fountain of Youth’ that explorers and scientists have been searching for? Time will tell…
