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posted by girlwhowaspluggedout on Tuesday March 04 2014, @06:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the but-does-it-still-taste-fresh dept.

hubie writes:

"A group at the Institut de Microbiologie de la Mediterranee, Aix Marseille Universite, revived a "giant" virus that had been embedded in permafrost for approximately 30,000 years. The virus was found in the tundra near East Siberia and is thus named Pithovirus sibericum. It is the latest entry in the class of large viruses called Megaviridae, which are so large that they are visible under an ordinary optical microscope:

P. sibericum is, on the scale of viruses, a giant - it has 500 genes, whereas the influenza virus has only eight.

This particular virus is harmless to humans and animals, but it demonstrates there could be unknown health repercussions as more permafrost thaws as the result of a warming planet."

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by gottabeme on Tuesday March 04 2014, @07:35AM

    by gottabeme (1531) on Tuesday March 04 2014, @07:35AM (#10496)

    "Unlike the flu virus, though, P. sibericum is harmless to humans and animals, for it only infects a type of amoeba called Acanthamoeba, the researchers said."

    How do they know what it can and cannot infect? Not accusing them of being wrong, just curious.

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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Bokononist on Tuesday March 04 2014, @09:21AM

    by Bokononist (3013) on Tuesday March 04 2014, @09:21AM (#10531)

    They don't. I'd be willing to bet that the virus is being looked at under very controlled conditions. In fact it would be insane if they didn't, I'm off to to RTFA now brb.

    --
    Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.