Experiments: basic research on living systems, not technology.
Also: Bacillus, amber, salt crystal, Bacillus permians
Researchers have reported reviving bacterial spores sealed in amber and salt for millions of years. These claims are disputed, because modern contamination is hard to rule out.
Known properties: Ancient bacterial spores (disputed revivals)
Only what the cited papers report.
These revival claims remain contested; critics point to DNA decay in dormant spores and near-identical sequences to modern bacteria. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887
Open questions
Gaps stated by the researchers themselves.
It is still not known whether bacteria in ancient salt are themselves millions of years old or modern microbes living in the salt. Graur 2001
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Spores revived from 25 to 40 million-year-old amber
Cano and Borucki reported reviving a bacterial spore from extinct bees preserved in Dominican amber, most closely related to today's Bacillus sphaericus, and argued it was not a modern contaminant.
Disputed: ancient-spore revival claims are contested (see Graur & Pupko 2001, doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887).
As reported in: Cano, Borucki (1995). Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber. Science. doi:10.1126/science.7538699
Bacterium from a 250 million-year-old salt crystal
Vreeland and colleagues reported isolating and growing a spore-forming Bacillus (strain 2-9-3) from a brine inclusion in a 250 million-year-old Permian salt crystal.
Disputed: the 250-million-year age is challenged by Graur & Pupko 2001 (doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887).
As reported in: Vreeland, Rosenzweig, Powers (2000). Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal. Nature. doi:10.1038/35038060
The controversy: "The Permian bacterium that isn't"
Graur and Pupko questioned the 250 million-year age of the salt-crystal bacterium, noting doubts that spores could survive that long and the extraordinary similarity of its gene sequence to modern Bacillus.