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Scientists Revive a Giant 30,000 Year Old Virus From Ice

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-saw-this-movie dept.

bmahersciwriter writes "It might be terrifying if we were amoebae. Instead, it's just fascinating. The virus, found in a hunk of Siberian ice, is huge, but also loosely packaged, which is strange says evolutionary biologist Jean-Michel Claverie: 'We thought it was a property of viruses that they pack DNA extremely tightly into the smallest particle possible, but this guy is 150 times less compacted than any bacteriophage [viruses that infect bacteria]. We don't understand anything anymore!'"

9 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Welp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This virus will be our undoing. The end is nigh!

    1. Re:Welp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Humanity is like a big baby left unsupervised, licking, poking, touching everything, because it can. Sooner or later, the fork ends up in the toaster or it drinks the dish washing liquid.

  2. Pray or Prey? by JimSadler · · Score: 5, Funny

    just hope that this bug is not designed to attack large, warm blooded, animals.

  3. 30,000 year old nope by dgp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Revive a 30,000 year old virus, they said. It'll be fun they said.

    1. Re:30,000 year old nope by MaksimS · · Score: 5, Funny

      What could possibly go wrong?

    2. Re:30,000 year old nope by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 4, Funny

      What could possibly go wrong?

      Hey, are my eyes supposed to be going black?

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      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  4. in prehistoric Russia by zlives · · Score: 5, Funny

    the virus catches you

  5. lol by hamburger+lady · · Score: 4, Funny

    "We don't understand anything anymore!" says the guy reviving a 30,000 year-old virus. sheesh.

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    Is this the MPAA? Is this the RIAA? Is this the DMCA? I thought it was the USA!
  6. Re:Wow by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Funny

    So no one who commented even bothered to read the SUMMARY? Is the internet full of fruit flies? THIS VIRUS CANNOT ATTACK MAMMALS, IT GOES FOR AMOEBAE YOU ILLITERATE ADHD PATIENTS!

    Then how come we haven't heard from the researchers for the past couple of weeks?

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    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!