Can Life Survive for Millions of Years?

How long can cells and tissues last?  Two different yet related stories should raise questions about the dates claimed, because the observations are astonishing.

1. Trees of the living dead:  Cypress trees in Hungary supposedly buried for eight million years look pristine.  The wood is unfossilized and uncoalified, said the report on Breitbart.com.  All that remained were the trunks, the bottom six meters of trees estimated to have been 30-40 meters tall.  The trees “were preserved in their original form and material.”  Cellulose, the glue that holds the wood together, had decomposed.  That made the trunks disintegrate quickly on exposure to the air and sunlight.  The museum director overseeing the excavation said, “The discovery is exceptional as the trees kept their wooden structure, they neither turned into coal nor were petrified.”
2. Bacterial rip van winkles:  Bacteria buried under Antarctic ice have been revived, said BBC News, Associated Press and and National Geographic.  For how long have they been entombed in suspended animation?  They “range in age from 100,000 years to eight million years.”  “Imagine sticking some bacteria in the freezer and taking them out millions of years later to find that they are still alive,” National Geographic said.  “That would be similar to what happened recently, when scientists brought eight-million-year-old microbes back to life—simply by thawing them.”

None of the articles questioned the age estimates provided by the scientists.

Either give up the long ages, evolutionists, or give up your credibility.  Some of us have long ago given up our credulity.