Scientists have uncovered 1,700 ancient viruses in ice cores extracted from the Guliya Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau. The viruses, dating back up to 41,000 years, include many previously unknown species and span nine distinct climatic periods, reflecting significant cold-to-warm transitions. This discovery, published in Nature Geoscience, offers insights into how viral communities adapt to climatic changes, potentially informing our understanding of viral behavior in the context of global warming. Researchers emphasized that these viruses do not infect humans but contribute to broader ecological and evolutionary studies. The study involved extensive logistical efforts, including transporting ice cores via yaks and specialized equipment to preserve and analyze the samples.