Recently, I came across a very interesting article on the
New York Times website; “Out of Siberian Ice, a Virus Revived,” by Carl Zimmer (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/science/out-of-siberian-ice-a-virus-revived.html?ref=science&_r=0).
This article is about the revival of a virus that has been
frozen in the permafrost of a Siberian riverbank for over 30,000 years. Discovered
by a team of researchers led by Chantal Abergel and Jean-Michel Claverie from Aix-Marseille
University in France, this virus is completely new to the world of science.
Scott O. Rogers of Bowling Green State University believes that being able to
retrieve a virus that is so old, and being able to actually grow it “goes
beyond what anyone else has done.” Nothing like this has been possible before,
and is an amazing feat for these scientists.
The researchers found that when they added pits of the
permafrost to amoebae, they amoebae began to die. They discovered that giant
viruses were multiplying inside the amoebae and killing them.
During their research and experiments, they found that the
virus is much different from the common ones we know today. This new virus,
that they called pithovirus, is 1.5
micrometers long and 25 percent bigger that viruses found before. According to Dr. Arbergel, “Sixty percent of
its gene content doesn’t resemble anything on earth.” They believe that these
viruses must have been parasitic life forms that were common very early in the
history of life.
Although these viruses are different from anything any
scientists have seen before, they pose no threat to humans. This particular
virus only infects amoebae, but some scientists are concerned that some other
disease-causing viruses could still be undiscovered in the permafrost. They
believe that even though it is possible that some viruses could infect humans,
the risk of an outbreak is extremely low.
This year in biology class we have been learning about
cells, bacteria, and viruses. We have learned that, in humans, viruses infect the
host cell and use it to infect the rest of the body. When the viruses are
infecting single-celled organisms, like amoebae, they don’t have anything else
to attack, and they end up just killing the organism.
I think it’s amazing that the scientists were able to grow a
virus back to its normal activity after 30,000 years of being frozen in
permafrost. I never thought that anything like that could be possible. Who
knows, maybe next they’ll be able to bring animals back from extinction!
Picture Citation:
Bartoli,
Julia. Pithovirus. 2012. Science, France. The New York Times. Web. 8
Mar. 2014.
Makena,
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was very interesting! I definitely also found it fascinating that these scientists were able to grow such an ancient virus. I also think it's interesting that this virus do not pose a threat to humans and that it only infects amoebas. It makes me wonder how that could be. There were a few points in the post where I got a little lost and confused just because of wording issues, for example when you said "The researchers found that when they added pits of the permafrost to amoebae, they amoebae began to die." Overall though I really enjoyed this post and found your topic very interesting. I also agree with your point that maybe on day in the distant future they may be able to bring back extinct animals (that would be so amazing!) Great job!
Great job! This was a very well written and interesting post. Right away I was hooked by your tittle. It really made me want to keep reading to find out more. I also find this topic very interesting. It also makes we wonder some things as well, like, did this virus infect other organisms a long time ago that are now extinct. It was interesting how you ended with, "Who knows, maybe next they’ll be able to bring animals back from extinction!" because it left me wondering about it. Overall great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good blog post! It is strange to think that, that virus was just frozen in the frost. It makes me wonder what other things could be frozen up there. One thing I did want to know is are the amoebas it kills important? I liked how you connected it to class. Good job.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Your title caught my eye I found it amazing that scientists found a way to make this virus come back to life. But, it also sounded a little weird considering 60% of the pithovirus's genes do not match with any other organisms on Earth. I also wondered if scientists will every be able to bring back extinct animals. Overall, your article was well written; good job.
ReplyDeleteMakena, really good job! I think it's so interesting that scientists were able to uncover a frozen virus from so long ago. I'm glad to know that it only affects amoeba, because the last thing humans need is another virus to look out for! I wonder where the virus came from because it says that it is very different from any other virus found on earth. It's probably going to take a lot of researching. Overall, your summary was really interesting and your titel caught my eye immediately. Great job!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Post Makena! Your post was very interesting and though provoking. I foud it really interesting that scientist were able recover a frozen perafrost of the Siberan riverfronts. It was a relief that the virus only effected ameba, because we do not need another epidemic on our hands. through reading this i wondered, how did a virus get and freeze in one of the most remote areas of the Earth? Well overall, your post was very intresting and eye opening, great job!!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! I thought that this was a very interesting topic and I have never heard of anything like this before. I thought you did a good job explaining this article and the amoebae and how it was impacted by the permafrost. You had a good connection to biology and I liked how you had you out you opinion in the post. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThis post was extremely startling and interesting to me. For one, if this virus is able to stay alive over larger periods of time is there any others that are in extremely cold areas. This could means that a new virus that no human is able to defend against could potentially cause a lot of damage to the public. Also if a virus is able to survive in the ice is a human able to this and allow a person to survive for more that 200 or 2,000 years? Overall, very interesting concept and idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Makena! I found your post very interesting and well-written. This whole concept is extremely engaging and provokes many questions. One question I came up with just by reading this article once is that if one of these viruses was discovered after thousands of years, what are the chances of another one popping up now, especially a more dangerous one? It is definitely a frightening idea for a virus to be resurrected that could kill off a breed of animals, or even the whole human race! This post brought new information about a topic I had never heard about to light, and will surely interest other new readers.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Makenna! Your post was extremely well written and i enjoyed reading it.I thought it was very interesting to hear how this virus came back after so long! I was wondering the process which occured in the resurrection of this virus.This topic got me thinking whether this same occurence could happen involving other species. This article was very interesting and i could tell by your well written article that you were intersted in it as well.
ReplyDeleteI like how you chose a picture that sums up what the virus does: kills amoebas. As interesting as it is to find extremely old organisms frozen in the tundra, it would be really nice if we could find something that could be beneficial to us today. Your connection to our class was strong, and I personally liked your post a lot because I find resurrecting "dead" species interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog post. The writing was very well detailed and filled with information. The quote you used to support this article was very strong and you introduced it very well. The picture that is included supports what this blog post is all about, and it is very clear and easy to see. Great job!
ReplyDelete