Researchers are still uncovering new secrets about the Viruses that were discovered in 1892. Viruses have no way of reproducing on their own. Instead, they are made of genetic material, usually DNA or its chemical cousinRNA, that is wrapped in aProtein coating. Because of their ability to integrate their genetic code into the code of their host, viral genes are found hidden in the genetic codes of many living things all over the world.
The emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic has led to a surge in research on coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19, as well as research into which pathogens may cause the next Pandemic.
Scientists have recently learned six new things about viruses.
Since it first appeared in China, there have been multiple variations of the disease popping up around the world. A study published in the journal Science sheds light on how the virus can be so easy to change and why it helps the immune system.
Live Science previously reported that the study found that the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 is often deleted. A deletion won't show up on the proofreader's radar because the virus has its own Proofreading mechanism that fixes errors as the virus replicates.
There are deletions that show up in the same spots on the genome. These are places where people's antibodies would bind to the virus and kill it. Because of the deletions, many of the antibodies can't recognize the virus.
These deletions are like a string of beads. That might not seem like a big deal, but to an antibody, it is completely different, according to study senior author Paul Duprex.
Hundreds of thousands of other viruses in animals could pose a similar threat to humans, despite the fact that the latest pathogen to spill over from animals to people is SARS-CoV-2. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes a new online tool that ranks viruses by their ability to hop from animals to people.
To come up with the rankings, the researchers created a credit-like score for viruses as a way of assessing and comparing their risks. They used the tool to rank 887 wildlife viruses, including some that are already zoonotic, like the one that has caused the death of at least one person, and others that haven't yet jumped from animals to people.
The top-ranking virus that is most likely to cause a pandemic is coronaviruses 229E, which belongs to thebat strain. The coronaviruses PREDICT CoV-35 is one of the top-ranking viruses and it is found in Africa and Southeast Asia.
The researchers hope their open-access tool can be used by other scientists, policymakers and public health officials to prioritize viruses for further study, surveillance and risk-reducing activities.
More than 5,000 new virus species have been identified in the world's oceans.
Live Science previously reported that the researchers analyzed more than 35,000 water samples from around the globe, looking forRNA viruses, or viruses that use RNA as their genetic material.
The researchers want to double the number of groups needed to classify the new viruses from the existing five to 10. The phylum is a broad classification in biology.
According to the study published in the journal Science, the five new phyla are named Taraviricota, Pomiviricota, Paraxenoviricota, Wamoviricota and Arctiviricota.
The researchers were able to find the ancient RdRp in the ocean because of the ancient genes in all theRNA viruses. The authors said that studying how it evolved over time could lead to a better understanding of how early life evolved on Earth.
New research has found that the Z-genome is more common than previously thought.
One of the nitrogen bases in DNA is adenine. The genetic code of DNA is made up of these letters.
In the 70s, scientists discovered a type of virus that used a chemical called 2-aminoadenine instead of adenine. Live Science previously reported that the viruses used the alphabet ZTCG instead of the genetic alphabet.
A study published in the journal Science found that the Z genome was present in more than 200 different types of viruses, and that it was more common than thought. The Z genome is contained in all of the viruses.
The researchers said that the Z genome may give the viruses some advantages.
Scientists don't need to look farther than our bodies to discover new organisms. More than 70,000 previously unknown viruses were described in a study published in the journal Cell.
The researchers analyzed more than 28,000 samples. All of the new viruses were related to the bacterium.
The vast majority of the newly discovered viruses are not likely to be harmful to people, according to the researchers.
As a critical component of our gut, it is not difficult to imagine that phages could be playing a key role in maintaining a healthy equilibrium.
For years, researchers wondered why viruses that are similar to each other can't be found hundreds of miles apart. Live Science previously reported that they found the answer to the question: Viruses can travel through the atmosphere on air currents. In a paper published in January of this year in the Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, researchers reported that viruses can hitch rides on particles of soil or water and swing high into a layer of the atmosphere called the free troposphere.
The researchers found that when the viruses reach the level of the free troposphere, they can travel much farther than would be possible at lower altitudes. The researchers said that the air currents within the free troposphere can cause hundreds of millions of viruses to be released on a single day.
Every day, more than 800 million viruses are deposited per square meter above the planetary boundary layer, that's 25 viruses for each person in Canada.
This article was contributed to by Karen Rowan.
The article was published in December. It was changed on April 18, 2022.
There is an original article on Live Science.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
