Scientist who injected himself with 3.5 million year old bacteria 'feels fine'

Living forever is a dream as old as death, and one humanity hasn't yet made reality. That's not for a lack of trying, though. At-home advocates partake in extreme calorie restriction in a bid to stave off aging, and others pop experimental drugs that, hopefully, prolong their life rather than shorten it. One scientist went a different route, though, injecting himself with 3.5-million-year-old bacteria. In his most recently interview, he revealed that he is still feeling fine.

That scientist is Anatoli Brouchkov, a geocryologist working at Moscow State University, and the bacteria he injected himself with is Bacillus F.. He acquired the sample that would, eventually, end up in his body from a section of permafrost he harvested at Mammoth Mountain in Sibera's Yakutsk. Brouchkov published a paper detailing his discovery.

The bacteria was harvested in 2009; Brouchkov went on to study it, finding that it gave vegetation and test mice something akin to mild superpowers — some vegetation could survive the cold better thanks to Bacillus F., and female mice exposed in testing were able to reproduce at older ages. Apparently satisfied with the results of his testing, Brouchkov eventually injected himself with the bacteria.

Speaking recently to VICE, Brouchkov gave a short update on how he's doing: just fine. He's feeling better than ever, is less tired, and hasn't had the flu in a couple years, though that could be due as much to luck as it could the bacteria. How the bacteria works, though, is still a mystery.

With a laugh, Brouchkov was sure to make a point about the injection. "It's not real science," he said. "I was just curious."