FALCON POWERS – American scientists have discovered what can be described as the oldest living organisms on Earth, which are massive viruses with an age of over 1.5 billion years.
Fortunately, these viruses cannot infect or spread among humans, nor do they live in their bodies or cause epidemics and diseases.
Researchers found these rare viruses in geothermal springs in the Yellowstone area of the United States. They believe that these viruses could lead to the discovery of how life formed on Earth millions of years ago. Scientists classified these viruses as “giant” because they have extremely large genomes compared to ordinary viruses.
According to researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the viruses consist of bacteria, while others belong to archaea, which are single-celled organisms resembling bacteria that require harsh environments and true nuclei found in fungi.
The Yellowstone hot springs formed at least 15,000 years ago after the melting of the last glacial rivers in the region, allowing the hot springs to emerge. However, bacteria thrived over a billion years before that.
Viruses can survive at temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Celsius, high pressures, or excessive salt concentrations. Researchers believe that they reproduce by infecting red algae in the hot springs.
Mark Young, a distinguished environmental virologist at Montana State University who did not participate in the research, said, “This work supports the concept that viruses exist wherever cellular life exists, and that viruses have been present throughout the entire history of cellular life.”
