Comments on: Jumping DNA rides aboard a virus, which targets a giant virus, which infects an amoeba, which infected a woman's eye

By: Jess Tauber

Jess Tauber — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:33:03 +0000

It has been reported IIRC that the kinds of reactions needed to produce nucleotides can happen in space in precursor-containing ice exposed to high energy radiation. Perhaps many hopeful sequences fall on onto the earth all the time from ‘out there’, and if they fit into our prevailing system of chirality and coding, manage to get a toehold. Oddly many might have had their origins billions of years ago, and have just been biding their time, waiting in the wings.

By: Adrian Morgan

Adrian Morgan — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:43:13 +0000

Note: At the time of writing there is not yet a Wikipedia article on transpoviron. The Internet is waiting.

By: Anonymyrmica

Anonymyrmica — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:00:16 +0000

I hate to be a grammarcop, but I find this one particularly amusing for its [unintentional?] juxtaposition of gender roles (ok, a 1970′s cartoon character, in particular): “…She woman had been using…” (Line 2)

By: labellaflora

labellaflora — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:32:20 +0000

Link to paper didn’t work for me. You can access paper here:
http://intl.pnas.org/content/early/2012/10/10/1208835109.full.pdf+html

By: Jon F

Jon F — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:02:02 +0000

If they have not named a gene in Sputnik 2′s genome “LAIKA” then I will be genuinely disappointed.

By: Danny Idryo

Danny Idryo — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:21:45 +0000

Here’s why: “The same team found the first virophage – Sputnik – back in 2008, under similar circumstances”

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:14:40 +0000

Why would they look inside the amoeba in the first place? I don’t think any of my docs did that to any of the minor parasites I’ve occasionally picked up in my travels.

Also reminded me of Jonathan Swift’s little poem….

“So, naturalists observe, a flea
Hath smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bite ‘em;
And so proceed ad infinitum.”