Year: 2022

BACTERIOPHAGES are viruses that prey on bacteria."Given that phages are relatively specific, are capable of rapid adaptation, and are often obligate killers of their host cells, they can impose strong selection on bacterial populations and shape microbial communities." https://lnkd.in/dPdrQyr View in LinkedIn

PHAGE VIRUSES. "Bacteriophages are especially mosaic: the genome of any phage species appears to be a composite of numerous individual modules. These modules may be found in other phage species in different arrangements." https://lnkd.in/dFSG2cu View in LinkedIn

SYNTHETIC VIRUSES. "Any viruses can be synthesized de novo ("from scratch") and the first synthetic virus was created in 2002. Although somewhat of a misconception, it is not the actual virus that is synthesized, but rather its DNA genome (in case of a DNA virus), or a cDNA copy of its genome (in case of RNA viruses)." https://lnkd.in/eF3wTsF View in LinkedIn

RECONSTRUCTED POLIO VIRUS. "Five years ago, as if to prove that point, researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook “built” a polio virus, using widely available information and DNA they bought through the mail. To test their “polio recipe,” they injected the virus into mice. The animals first became paralyzed and then died...“The reason we did it was to prove that it can be done." https://lnkd.in/e--W3GC View in LinkedIn

RESURRECTED VIRUS. "It's 30,000 years old and still ticking: A giant virus recently discovered deep in the Siberian permafrost reveals that huge ancient viruses are much more diverse than scientists had ever known." https://lnkd.in/dEzBSEW View in LinkedIn

SPANISH FLU VIRIS REBORN. "Reconstruction of the 1918 virus and studies elucidating the exceptional virulence and transmissibility of the virus are providing exciting new insights into this devastating pandemic strain." It killed 50-100 million people. We still do not have a vaccine against it. https://lnkd.in/dDh4WMA 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

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

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

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