http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/ Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2390 James Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:06:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2390 Cyberworld is full of indecipherable sci-pseudo-jargon that is not very well written. I would like to thank you for inspiring me to be a better writer in terms of clarity and lucidity; for your ability to express complex subjects in a manner that makes it easy to understand is exemplary. You should be a spokesperson for the World Health Organization. Cyberworld is full of indecipherable sci-pseudo-jargon that is not very well written. I would like to thank you for inspiring me to be a better writer in terms of clarity and lucidity; for your ability to express complex subjects in a manner that makes it easy to understand is exemplary. You should be a spokesperson for the World Health Organization.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2389 aratina Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:17:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2389 Stunning! This could make for an awesome sci-fi story. Stunning! This could make for an awesome sci-fi story.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2388 Dallas Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:28:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2388 Wow. This is one of the coolest examples of horizontal gene transfer I've heard about. Thanks for posting this. Wow. This is one of the coolest examples of horizontal gene transfer I’ve heard about. Thanks for posting this.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2387 Larry Ayers Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:47:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2387 I'd much rather read posts like this rather than pointless battles between theists and atheists. Go Ed! I’d much rather read posts like this rather than pointless battles between theists and atheists. Go Ed!

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2386 John Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:13:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2386 Another cool narration by Ed. Another cool narration by Ed.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2385 magetoo Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:20:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2385 What ERV said. What ERV said.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2384 ERV Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:12:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2384 AHHH COOOOOOOOOOOL!!! AHHH COOOOOOOOOOOL!!!

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2383 Nathan Myers Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:38:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2383 This provokes the question as to where and how viruses originated. Might this be <i>not</i> a case of genes migrating from viruses to wasps, but rather a case of genes failing to migrate from wasps to polydnaviruses? If that is not plausible (for some specific reason) in this case, is there any reason it can't be in some more likely case, e.g. an archaeon or bacterium? I am thinking, particularly, of bacteriophages, which seem to me more likely to have been hijacked by viruses than to have been invented by them. Parasites are generally better known for a tendency to degeneracy than for exquisite mechanical engineering. Has anyone even looked for instances of a bacterium using the phage structure as a carrier for communication or as a weapons delivery platform? Might not the phage virus <i>qua</i> virus itself originate as a weapon in inter-bacterial warfare? The idea seems testable by identifying patterns of phage components in bacterial genomes. This provokes the question as to where and how viruses originated. Might this be not a case of genes migrating from viruses to wasps, but rather a case of genes failing to migrate from wasps to polydnaviruses? If that is not plausible (for some specific reason) in this case, is there any reason it can’t be in some more likely case, e.g. an archaeon or bacterium?
I am thinking, particularly, of bacteriophages, which seem to me more likely to have been hijacked by viruses than to have been invented by them. Parasites are generally better known for a tendency to degeneracy than for exquisite mechanical engineering. Has anyone even looked for instances of a bacterium using the phage structure as a carrier for communication or as a weapons delivery platform? Might not the phage virus qua virus itself originate as a weapon in inter-bacterial warfare?
The idea seems testable by identifying patterns of phage components in bacterial genomes.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2382 jj Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:36:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/12/wasps-use-genes-stolen-from-ancient-viruses-to-make-biological-weapons/#comment-2382 Interesting post! I always like to look at discoveries like these in a backwards fashion - Like, instead of thinking about how these wasps 'took' genes from a virus, but more how something like a wasp developing proteins like this, then spreading them to a host could result in the formation of a virus (of course I have no backing to this whats-so-ever, but it's interesting to think of it this way). Or what if a wasp infected another wasp (which doesn't happen, at leased not that I know of) with a pseudo-virus, and that is able to 'absorb' (for lack of a better term or mechanism) a protein coat gene - creating a virus that is able to replicate. I'm sure there is much more evidence for the forward progression, but something like this could help explain how something like a virus could come to be. Interesting post! I always like to look at discoveries like these in a backwards fashion – Like, instead of thinking about how these wasps ‘took’ genes from a virus, but more how something like a wasp developing proteins like this, then spreading them to a host could result in the formation of a virus (of course I have no backing to this whats-so-ever, but it’s interesting to think of it this way). Or what if a wasp infected another wasp (which doesn’t happen, at leased not that I know of) with a pseudo-virus, and that is able to ‘absorb’ (for lack of a better term or mechanism) a protein coat gene – creating a virus that is able to replicate. I’m sure there is much more evidence for the forward progression, but something like this could help explain how something like a virus could come to be.

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