Contrary to common belief, not all viruses are harmful to their hosts. Sometimes viruses can even protect their hosts from infection by other viruses. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg ...
Researchers have proposed a new evolutionary model for the origin of a kingdom of viruses called Bamfordvirae, suggesting a billion-years evolutionary arms race between two groups within this kingdom and their hosts.
During a large-scale study of complex single-celled microbes, Dr. Christopher Bellas, Marie-Sophie Plakolb and Prof. Ruben Sommaruga from the Department of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck made an unexpected discovery. ...
Virophages are small viruses with double-stranded DNA genomes that co-infect eukaryotic cells along with giant viruses. Almost all known virophage genomes share only four genes in common: major and minor capsid proteins (MCP ...
In freshwater lakes, microbes regulate the flow of carbon and determine if the bodies of water serve as carbon sinks or carbon sources. Algae and cyanobacteria in particular can trap and use carbon, but their capacity to ...
All organisms ─ big or small ─ are under constant attack by a multitude of viruses. As a consequence, a variety of innate and adaptive immune defence systems have evolved to keep parasites under control. Researchers at ...
A team of scientists affiliated with several research facilities in France has conducted a study on giant viruses known as mimiviruses and has found that at least some of them have an immune system that is similar in some ...
(Phys.org)—What have viruses ever done for humans? The question is debatable, but given the prevalence of highly contagious, and sometimes life-threatening illnesses caused by viruses, it's fair to say that most people ...
Radically different viruses share genes and are likely to share ancestry, according to research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Virology Journal this week. The comprehensive phylogenomic analysis compares ...
(Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has determined key structural features of the Sputnik virus, thought to play a role in illnesses caused by eating raw fish.
