Ötzi the Iceman, Europe's most famous mummy, has been found to still harbor living microbes. After 5,300 years, a team of scientists discovered that Ötzi's body is home to a handful of cold-adapted yeast species.
The microbes were found in samples from Ötzi's stomach, meltwater, skin, and even the air in his frozen storage room. Researchers also sampled a block of frozen alpine soil taken from next to Ötzi's body in 1991.
The discovery provides a unique glimpse into the microbiome of a ancient human and raises questions about the boundaries between a person, an artifact, and an ecosystem.
