‘Frankenvirus’: Scientists set to revive giant 30,000yo virus discovered in Siberian permafrost…(Oh, Great…)
RT.com
9 Sep, 2015
French scientists have announced they found a new prehistoric virus in the frozen Siberian wastelands, and are planning to bring it back to life. They promise to make sure that the giant virus won’t harm anyone.
The virus is called Mollivirus sibericum, translated as ‘soft virus from Siberia’, and measures at 0.6 microns, just over a thousandth of a millimeter. Thus, it is officially termed a ‘giant virus’.
It is also a monster among other viruses, with 523 genetic proteins, while, for comparison, a flu virus genome has only 11.
It is the fourth type of prehistoric virus found since 2003, and the second by the French researchers, who announced the discovery in the United States National Academy of Sciences journal. They found the virus in the same sample taken from a depth of 30m Chukotka, East Siberia where they discovered another prehistoric giant virus type, called Pithovirus sibericum.
Scientists are now set to ‘wake up’ the virus, but will first make sure that it is inactive and can’t trigger disease in humans or animals.
The Rest…HERE
