Ancient microbes found alive in Ötzi after 5,300 years

Scientists have uncovered unexpected traces of ancient microbes inside Ötzi the Iceman, the world's oldest known mummy, according to research published in the journal Microbiome and reported by the New York Post this week. The discovery centres on the 5,300-year-old remains, which were found by a tourist inside a glacier in the Alps in 1991 and are now housed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. The finding challenges conventional understanding of microbial survival in extreme preservation conditions.

The study identified what researchers describe as "signs of life" persisting within the mummified tissue—a remarkable outcome given the extreme cold and desiccation of the alpine glacier environment. The New York Post reported the findings came from analysis conducted at the Bolzano museum, where Ötzi has been preserved since his discovery more than three decades ago. The nature and implications of the microbial persistence remain under investigation by the research team.