The Laptev Virus

Sarah remembered the first time she learned about virus specificity. Although there were a few viruses, like some flu viruses, which could go from one species to another, most viruses could not. It had to do with how they attached to the cells in the first place in order to enter them. Cells of different species had differently shaped membranes. For that matter, cells within each body tissue had differently shaped membranes. This meant that someone could sneeze on your toes as much as they wanted to, and you would not get sick unless you breathed in the air that had those flu viruses. It also meant that Tally was right and that in all likelihood, the Laptev virus had seen humans before or otherwise it would not be making anyone sick now.

“Go on,” said Sarah. She was quite impressed that Tally had followed up on her musings and found out some facts to begin to shed some light on the situation.

“It turns out that humans have lived on the shores of Laptev Bay for time immemorial. So then I began wondering how long ‘time immemorial’ could be. We know that ancient humans were itinerant, and that they migrated over the Bering Straits some 15,000 years ago, in pursuit of mammoths, right? That’s how they crossed over from Asia to America. But, if they were successful 15,000 years ago, how long before that did they attempt to find a passage and not succeed? And where all did they wander before they actually found the Bering Straits?”

Sarah had to smile. “You think like a detective, Tally. I love it!” she said, laughing. Despite her initial misgivings about the project, Sarah realized that it felt really good to be so focused on this interesting question and to see how well her research team was evolving. She was certain that this was a special team, and that another combination of investigators might not have made nearly as much progress in such a short period of time.

Tally sat up straighter and smiled as she continued telling her story. “We don’t have written records that go that far back in time, of course, and there aren’t any caves around there where we could find traces of ancient human activity. So I had to think of a different way to answer that question. Then I remembered that a while ago I read an article in National Geographic about how there are people who are hunting mammoth tusks. So I went back and looked for the article because I was pretty sure they were talking about somewhere way up north.”

Sarah felt a thrill of excitement at Tally’s words and she could see that everyone else was also completely focused on her story. Even Kevin had stopped poking at his phone.

“It turns out that it is in the frozen tundra of Siberia where they are looking for the tusks. Apparently these fossil ivory tusks appear all over the place up there because the cold has helped to preserve them, and the mammoths must have been everywhere.”

Sarah felt another tingle of excitement and immediately began to anticipate where Tally’s story was going.

“Then I did more research on our university data base about mammoth ivory, and sure enough, I saw that some tusks had been found on the shores of Laptev Bay.”

Emile let out a short whistle of surprise, and Miquela raised her hand to her mouth. Everyone was astounded by Tally’s discovery.

“So, although it’s certainly not been proven beyond a doubt, I’m willing to bet that there were humans in the area of Laptev Bay 30,000 years ago, chasing those mammoths around. They must have caught the virus back then and perished, but some of the virus particles remained trapped in the ice and lay hidden there until we pulled them out of their icy grave, all these thousands of years later.”

Sarah beamed with pride. “Tally, that is an amazing story. Bravo! It sounds to me like the makings of a Science or Nature article. I think you’d better start putting something together.” She imagined what it would be like to have an article published in either of those top journals of the scientific world. It would be a dream come true. Most investigators, she knew, never got a chance to come across something so interesting that it could be considered for publication in one of those journals, and here they were, after only two weeks of working with Laptev, already contemplating sharing their results with the world in such a dramatic fashion.

And why shouldn’t they? In spite of efforts to suppress them, reports about the incidents involving the trapped Arctic workers and the spanking new hemorrhagic flu virus had swiftly leapt across the social media platforms. ‘Laptevgate’ had captivated the attention of millions who listened to the same news over and over, like desperate gamblers hoping that the next nickel will cause the slot machine to spew out its rich bowels.

Headlines from several local and national newspapers read, “Perilous Polar Pathogen Persists after 30,000 Years” and “Arctic Contagion Kills 7” and “Glacial Outbreak Closes Barracks; Workers Flown Home.”