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INFECTIOUS DNA. "For many virus families the naked synthetic DNA or RNA (once enzymatically converted back from the synthetic cDNA) is infectious when introduced into a cell. That is, they contain all the necessary information to produce new viruses. This technology is now being used to investigate novel vaccine strategies." https://lnkd.in/eF3wTsF View in LinkedIn

TRANSITION FROM OUTSIDE. "According to Keeling and Archibald, the usual way to distinguish organelles from endosymbionts is by their reduced genome sizes. As an endosymbiont evolves into an organelle, most of their genes are transferred to the host cell genome. The host cell and organelle need to develop a transport mechanism that enables transfer back of the protein products needed by the organelle but now manufactured by the cell." https://lnkd.in/dQewn-C View in LinkedIn

ARCHAELOLOGY. "A complete ancient RNA genome: identification, reconstruction and evolutionary history of archaeological Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus." (~750 years old). https://lnkd.in/dFYnVyz View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE. We have journeyed in this string of ideas from mosaicism the individual to division of labor and outsourcing of functionality. Now it continues with evolutionary bolt-ons that are inherited. The endosymbiotic origin of the nucleus, chloroplasts, mitochondria and other organelles may seem improbable. Symbiogenesis theory by Lynn Margulis (1967) proposed that mitochondria and chloroplasts arose by hereditable symbiosis in a huge saltation. Why did it stop there? Or did it? View in LinkedIn

STABLE VIRUS REMAINS. "Preservation of viral genomes in 700-y-old caribou feces from a subarctic ice patch. Our findings indicate that viral genomes may in some circumstances be protected from degradation for centuries." https://lnkd.in/dCwNbPg View in LinkedIn

Kaikoura: 'Most complex quake ever studied' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39373846 View in LinkedIn

SPANISH FLU. "Ten vials of virus were created, each containing 10 million infectious virus particles. First they tried infecting mice. All were dead in a matter of days. The experiment was hailed as a “huge breakthrough,” a “tour de force.” “I can’t think of anything bigger that’s happened in virology for many years,” cheered one leading scientist. Not knowing the true identity of the 1918 flu had been “like a dark angel hovering over us." https://lnkd.in/dRywiQq View in LinkedIn

THE VARIABLE VIOME. "The resulting dynamic but metastable equilibrium between the virome and the host can be dangerous, benign, or even symbiotic." https://lnkd.in/b9QHr8w View in LinkedIn

BALANCE. "Viruses that cause chronic infection constitute a stable but little-recognized part of our metagenome: our virome. Ongoing immune responses hold these chronic viruses at bay while avoiding immunopathologic damage to persistently infected tissues. The immunologic imprint generated by these responses to our virome defines the normal immune system." https://lnkd.in/b9QHr8w View in LinkedIn

HUMAN VIROME. "The eukaryotes and viruses that are associated with humans have typically been studied with a focus on specific pathogenic organisms...recent research is beginning to show that even healthy humans harbor a diverse consortium of viruses that make up the human virome. Most viral sequences currently being identified in mammals are novel, suggesting that we are just beginning to characterize the diversity within the human virome." https://lnkd.in/dRUEtkS View in LinkedIn