CreaturesBecause Why WOULDN’T We Awaken Microbes That Have Been Dormant for 100 Million Years? Posted on March 3, 2021 by Administrator One such story involves a team of scientists from the US and Japan, who have been able to “wake up” microbes that have been dormant for nearly 100 million years. The scientists state that these microorganisms began to grow and divide even though they had entered an energy-saving state as far back as the time dinosaurs were still walking the Earth.