microrobert
07-19-2013, 03:57 AM
Newly discovered “Pandoravirus" could redefine life as we know it
Scientists have discovered a pair of viruses that defy classification. Bigger and more genetically complex than any viral genus known to science, these so-called "pandoraviruses" could reignite a longstanding debate over the classification of life itself.
The Largest Virus Ever
There was a time when scientists regarded viruses as small and simple. Then along came mimivirus. When the viral juggernaut was discovered ten years ago, it was far and away the biggest, most genetically complex virus scientists had ever encountered. At 600 nanometers in diameter (comparable in size to some bacteria), and with a genome containing roughly 1,000 genes, it in many ways bears a closer resemblance to a parasitic bacterium than a virus.(Consider HIV, which measures just 120 nanometers across, and packs a total of just nine genes.) Hence the name mimivirus – short for "microbe mimicking virus."
http://io9.com/newly-discovered-pandoravirus-could-redefine-life-as-827838228
Scientists have discovered a pair of viruses that defy classification. Bigger and more genetically complex than any viral genus known to science, these so-called "pandoraviruses" could reignite a longstanding debate over the classification of life itself.
The Largest Virus Ever
There was a time when scientists regarded viruses as small and simple. Then along came mimivirus. When the viral juggernaut was discovered ten years ago, it was far and away the biggest, most genetically complex virus scientists had ever encountered. At 600 nanometers in diameter (comparable in size to some bacteria), and with a genome containing roughly 1,000 genes, it in many ways bears a closer resemblance to a parasitic bacterium than a virus.(Consider HIV, which measures just 120 nanometers across, and packs a total of just nine genes.) Hence the name mimivirus – short for "microbe mimicking virus."
http://io9.com/newly-discovered-pandoravirus-could-redefine-life-as-827838228