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These viruses seem to be as ancient as cellular life, and may preserve genes that did not become incorporated into the last common ancestor of living beings. Th
by HarryHirsch 7y ago
These viruses seem to be as ancient as cellular life, and may preserve genes that did not become incorporated into the last common ancestor of living beings. That, or new protein families evolve even today.
- mirimir 7y agoI don't get that from TFA. > Some of Yaravirus’s genes look like those in a giant virus, but it’s still unclear how the two are related, Abrahão says. He and his colleagues are still investigating other aspects of the novel virus’s lifestyle. I don't know enough about this stuff to comment coherently. Last I knew, it wasn't clear whether viruses were remnants of prebiotic stuff, or derived from cellular organisms, or some of each.