September 23, 2015

Sounds Like Sci-Fi Horror, but It's Frighteningly Real: Giant Viruses May Be Unleashed by Arctic Thaw @alternet

Sounds Like Sci-Fi Horror, but It's Frighteningly Real: Giant Viruses May Be Unleashed by Arctic Thaw @alternet

"This newly discovered pathogen, named Mollivirus sibericum, is 0.6 microns long and has more than 500 genes. By contrast, the contemporary influenza A and B viruses each contain eight genes.

Viruses are classed as “giant” when they are longer than half a micron, or about 0.00002 inch."