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Nevilledog

(50,659 posts)
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 01:33 AM Jul 2021

Scientists discovered over 30 viruses frozen in ice. Almost all of them have never been seen before.



Tweet text:
USA TODAY
@USATODAY
Ancient viruses were found frozen in two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China – and most of them are unlike anything ever seen before.

Scientists discovered over 30 viruses frozen in ice. Almost all of them have never been seen before.
The group of researchers from Ohio State found viruses with genetic codes that have never been discovered.
usatoday.com
6:05 PM · Jul 21, 2021


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/07/21/researchers-discover-28-never-before-seen-viruses-frozen-ice/8042635002/

A group of scientists discovered ancient viruses frozen in two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China, and most of them are unlike anything ever seen before.

The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Microbiome, came from ice cores taken in 2015 that scientists said began to freeze at least 14,400 years ago.

“These glaciers were formed gradually, and along with dust and gases, many, many viruses were also deposited in that ice," Zhi-Ping Zhong, lead author and researcher at the Ohio State University Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, said in a statement. "The glaciers in western China are not well-studied, and our goal is to use this information to reflect past environments. And viruses are a part of those environments."

When researchers analyzed the ice, they found genetic codes for 33 viruses. Of the 33, genetic codes for four of them showed they are part of virus families that typically infect bacteria. Up to 28 were novel, meaning they had never before been identified.

*snip*


29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Scientists discovered over 30 viruses frozen in ice. Almost all of them have never been seen before. (Original Post) Nevilledog Jul 2021 OP
Just what we don't need. 3catwoman3 Jul 2021 #1
THESE ICES...... They contain MONSTERS .... like in the movie THE THING. Trueblue1968 Jul 2021 #10
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Jul 2021 #13
Don't these scientists watch movies? n/t Whiskeytide Jul 2021 #2
Oh, that's effing great. Laffy Kat Jul 2021 #3
Better start believing in Science. OAITW r.2.0 Jul 2021 #4
Ice is melting all over the world: permafrost, glaciers, you name it Hekate Jul 2021 #5
Well, time for them to replicate the mystery viruses... Buckeye_Democrat Jul 2021 #6
PUT THEM BACK!!! DemocraticPatriot Jul 2021 #7
Well, it was nice meeting people on DU. bearssoapbox Jul 2021 #8
Better get busy bringing them back to life Calculating Jul 2021 #9
Given that the ice is melting and they may be reintroduced into circulation, that may GPV Jul 2021 #18
We're all gonna die. TreasonousBastard Jul 2021 #11
I may as well start smoking again. panader0 Jul 2021 #25
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue" Roland99 Jul 2021 #26
I can write this movie! catrose Jul 2021 #12
Makes me think of the black oil on X-files. GPV Jul 2021 #19
Yeah, and the spaceship buried under the ice. Nay Jul 2021 #24
And to think some folks think humans hold dominion over nature. Solly Mack Jul 2021 #14
HG Wells, War of the Worlds Throck Jul 2021 #15
Yeah, but will Morgan Freeman be there to narrate it? Solly Mack Jul 2021 #16
This will be part of how climate change kills us. LiberatedUSA Jul 2021 #17
+1 2naSalit Jul 2021 #22
Please keep them secure ffs ecstatic Jul 2021 #20
Estimates vary that there are 1 to 10 million different species of virus Klaralven Jul 2021 #21
Thank you for this article link. Karma13612 Jul 2021 #27
. Hassin Bin Sober Jul 2021 #23
A teaspoon of seawater... Edim Jul 2021 #28
The vast majority of viruses are not pathogenic to mammals. MineralMan Jul 2021 #29

3catwoman3

(23,812 posts)
1. Just what we don't need.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 01:37 AM
Jul 2021

Ordinarily, I would say fascinating. Not just now. No more novel viruses, please.

Trueblue1968

(17,138 posts)
10. THESE ICES...... They contain MONSTERS .... like in the movie THE THING.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 02:53 AM
Jul 2021

I WILL drown myself before i let myself get destroyed by monsters !!!! pictures of that monster coming outta that dog still wake me up at night .....

carpenters .... THE THING.

Response to 3catwoman3 (Reply #1)

Laffy Kat

(16,354 posts)
3. Oh, that's effing great.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 02:02 AM
Jul 2021

I'm reading "Phase Six" about a pandemic that starts in a small village in Greenland after miners dig up a long-buried avian virus. It seems so plausible. The novel is a good read and frankly terrifying.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,810 posts)
4. Better start believing in Science.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 02:17 AM
Jul 2021

This ain't rocket science, but we were told 50 fucking years ago that it was a reality and the Republican Party, a fully owned operational subsidiary of Big Oil/Gas....kept denying it. But, tax cuts and deregulation....win!

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
5. Ice is melting all over the world: permafrost, glaciers, you name it
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 02:18 AM
Jul 2021

At least the scientists will get to study some of it before it liquifies by itself

GPV

(72,377 posts)
18. Given that the ice is melting and they may be reintroduced into circulation, that may
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 06:19 AM
Jul 2021

not be a bad idea.

 

LiberatedUSA

(1,666 posts)
17. This will be part of how climate change kills us.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 06:12 AM
Jul 2021

Not just rising oceans, killed off parts of the ecosystem and more violent and frequent storms, but also brand new, very old, deadly viruses unlocked from being frozen in eternity. I bet at least a few of them will make the worse viruses in history seems kind.

 

Klaralven

(7,510 posts)
21. Estimates vary that there are 1 to 10 million different species of virus
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 06:44 AM
Jul 2021
Biologists estimate that 380 trillion viruses are living on and inside your body right now—10 times the number of bacteria. Some can cause illness, but many simply coexist with you. In late 2019, for example, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered 19 different strains of redondovirus in the respiratory tract; a handful were associated with periodontal disease or lung disease, but others could possibly fight respiratory illnesses. Scientists' rapidly expanding knowledge makes it clear that we are not made up primarily of “human” cells that are occasionally invaded by microbes; our body is really a superorganism of cohabitating cells, bacteria, fungi and most numerous of all: viruses. The latest counts indicate that as much as half of all the biological matter in your body is not human.


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/viruses-can-help-us-as-well-as-harm-us/

Karma13612

(4,527 posts)
27. Thank you for this article link.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 08:36 AM
Jul 2021

I have gotten 1/2 way thru. Just marvelous, so much good information!!

Edim

(300 posts)
28. A teaspoon of seawater...
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 10:38 AM
Jul 2021

"A teaspoon of seawater typically contains about fifty million viruses.[6] Most of these viruses are bacteriophages which infect and destroy marine bacteria and control the growth of phytoplankton at the base of the marine food web. Bacteriophages are harmless to plants and animals but are essential to the regulation of marine ecosystems. They supply key mechanisms for recycling ocean carbon and nutrients. In a process known as the viral shunt, organic molecules released from dead bacterial cells stimulate fresh bacterial and algal growth. In particular, the breaking down of bacteria by viruses (lysis) has been shown to enhance nitrogen cycling and stimulate phytoplankton growth. Viral activity also affects the biological pump, the process which sequesters carbon in the deep ocean. By increasing the amount of respiration in the oceans, viruses are indirectly responsible for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by approximately 3 gigatonnes of carbon per year."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_viruses

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
29. The vast majority of viruses are not pathogenic to mammals.
Thu Jul 22, 2021, 10:46 AM
Jul 2021

Most infect bacteria, which is not surprising, since there are bacteria everywhere in unbelievable numbers. Most bacteria, too, are not pathogenic, but are crucial to the ecosystem.

So, since these viruses were found in frozen water, I'd bet heavily that not a single one is a human pathogen.

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