Could Climate Change Unleash a “Giant Virus” On the World?
Mar 12
The study of giant viruses has grown significantly over the last few years, as two other groups of viruses, Mimivirus and Pandora virus (the latter also excavated by Claverie and Abergel), have been discovered during that time. While it is an exciting time for researchers in the field, these discoveries raise a growing concern that a virus buried in the ice and inactive for centuries could be unwittingly unleashed upon the world, especially with climate change melting large portions of arctic ice.
Luckily, a professor of microbiology at Emory, Edward Mocarski, claims the odds of locating a human pathogen in the ice are about as small as viruses themselves.
“It is extremely unlikely unless the virus came from a frozen human being who possibly died from a virus that is no longer in circulation,” said Mocarski.
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140303-giant-virus-permafrost-siberia-pithovirus-pandoravirus-science/
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