3/5/14
Deep in the coldest region of Siberia buried within the ice
lies a species of giant microbe almost 30,000 years old. Scientists recently
stumbled across this virus in the harshest of Siberian regions. It has a
distinct shape that was thought to be a part of the Pandoravirus family.
However, the Pithovirus sibericum.
Has no relation whatsoever to the Pandoravirus. The scientists found that this
new viris contained way less genes than the Pandora and it has way more proteins
that make it up in comparison to the Pandora. The only similar thing they share
is that they can both replicate within amoebas. This new microbe indeed acts
like a virus in the way it takes over its host and takes it as its own. This
new virus is not harmful to animals or humans so far, but there’s still a veil
of mystery covering this newfound giant that may make it not so gentle. This
new virus is also peculiar in the sense that it shares almost no similarities
to other giant viruses found before. Which makes it all the more mysterious in
nature. There is also something that people should be wary about. This virus
has been buried for 30 thousand years, and has been regenerated. It also shares similar replication processes
to the seemingly eradicated smallpox virus. Hopefully this won’t mean that this
awful virus will come back; only time will tell what this “gentle giant” will
do for the scientific community.
The author was very straightforward with this article, it
provided all kinds of information about this new virus.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140304071433.htm
The researchers over in Siberia are now skeptical about digging any further because they might unearth a virus that can be deadly and no one would know how to stop it. Thankfully, this pithovirus is pretty harmless against humans. It's still crazy how its been in the ice for over 30,000 years! How is it still alive? I understand it can lie dormant, but 30,000 years is still too long to be able to survive in ice and then reanimate itself. Hopefully no deadly viruses are found in the ice and hopefully viruses that can provide helpful research and answers will be found.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is insane! You are telling me that this beast has been buried for 30,000 years? That just goes to show how tough and versatile these organisms can be. It is somewhat comforting to hear that it is harmless to animals, but what if it underwent some type of mutation or adaptation that allowed it to invade an animal host? That would be catastrophic!
ReplyDeleteHi, I am a PhD student in Dr. Northup's lab. Interesting article. I also read about this topic and some of the follow up conversations about the subject. One article I read was that there is a fear that some bodies buried in permafrost regions, that were infected with smallpox, could thaw out due to global warming and create a potentially reemergence of the disease. It will be interesting to see if there are any follow up studies and what the studies may reveal.
ReplyDelete