Zombie moss? Our list of six really long-lived Earth organisms Daniel Martins mardi, 9 juillet 2019 à 20:27 - A story making the rounds this week gives an idea of just how long lifeforms on Earth can live if given the chance. Apparently, not even being buried beneath a glacier for a couple of centuries can 100 per cent guarantee the death of a hardy patch of moss. Not in the Arctic, at least. A story published in the Washington Post this week, ostensibly about how organisms long thought dead are returning to life as glaciers and permafrost melt, features just such a moss. Recovered from Ellesmere Island by University of Alberta researcher Catherine La Farge a decade ago, several samples of the moss thrived when taken to a warm laboratory, after centuries in the deep freeze.