July 24, 2013
Mohenjo
Science
aix marseille, amazon, biology, business, Business News, climate, Dail Discovery, Dna, electron microscopy image, evolutionary biologists, genes, genome, Genome Largest Viruses, Hotels, huffingtonpost, jean michel claverie, Largest Viruses, Megavirus, Mimivirus, New Life Form, Pandoraviruses, record breakers, research, Science, Science News, Slideshow, technology, Technology News, travel, vacation, Virus Genome, viruses
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The organism was initially called NLF, for “new life form”. Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Abergel, evolutionary biologists at Aix-Marseille University in France, found it in a water sample collected off the coast of Chile, where it seemed to be infecting and killing amoebae. Under a microscope, it appeared as a large, dark spot, about the size of a small bacterial cell.
Later, after the researchers discovered a similar organism in a pond in Australia, they realized that both are viruses — the largest yet found. Each is around 1 micrometre long and 0.5 micrometres across, and their respective genomes top out at 1.9 million and 2.5 million bases — making the viruses larger than many bacteria and even some eukaryotic cells.
But these viruses, described today in Science, are more than mere record-breakers — they also hint at unknown parts of the tree of life. Just 7% of their genes match those in existing databases.
“What the hell is going on with the other genes?” asks Claverie. “This opens a Pandora’s box. What kinds of discoveries are going to come from studying the contents?” The researchers call these giants Pandoraviruses.
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Electron microscopy image of a mimivirus particle.
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.Click link below for story and slideshow:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/20/virus-genome-fourth-domain-life_n_3624207.html?ref=topbar
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March 3, 2013
Mohenjo
Medical
'wrong' immune response, 8.7 million people infected with tuberculosis, amazon, bacteria, bacterial infections, bbc, bbc news, business, climate, Health, Hotels, immune response, journal science reports, medicine, news health, research, Science, Science News, spring peak, technology, Technology News, travel, tuberculosis, tuberculosis infections, vacation, viruses, www bbc co uk
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Some bacteria, including tuberculosis, are able to invade because the body launches the ‘wrong’ immune response, say researchers.
Instead of fighting off tuberculosis, people with a severe infection produce a protein which attacks viruses, the journal Science reports.
About 8.7 million people are infected with tuberculosis every year.
The findings may explain why viruses can make people more susceptible to bacterial infections.
A spring peak in tuberculosis infections may be linked to the effects of viruses circulating in winter, experts suggested.
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.Click link below for article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21619594
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