Medusa was once the creature of nightmares. The Greek mythological creature could turn anyone to stone merely by looking into their eyes. Now, it seems as though her powers could have made their way into the real world after all with this new virus.
Discovering The Virus
Scientists were busy working in muddy hot springs in Japan when they stumbled across something unusual. It was a virus, but it was unlike one they had ever seen before. Researchers have been studying giant viruses for years as many once thought they were large bacteria. Now we know they are so large that these viruses are so large that they often have many powers that we never knew before. That’s not all. It didn’t take long for the scientists to realize this giant virus was more dangerous than they ever believed.
A Strange Side Effects
The scientists collected the virus and took it back to the lab. Here, they could see the effects it had on amebas, and it didn’t take long for things to make a surprising turn. The amebas soon froze and entered a state known as encystment. Although amebas can enter this state when they are faced with stress, the giant virus appeared to make them develop a thick outer shell. It was almost as if they were turning to stone before their very eyes. To top it off, things were about to get even stranger…
Not The Final Story
The scientists looked closer and noticed there was something unusual across the amebas. The outside of the virus was covered in thousands of spikes that almost looked like the snakeheads many of us have seen on Medusa’s head. The scientists knew they needed to name the virus after the creature herself, and the Medusavirus was born. To top it off, the giant virus is so different from any others that scientists have discovered that they want to classify it in a whole new family called Medusaviridae.
It looks as though incredible discoveries are happening all around us every day, but who would have believed that a Greek mythical creature might be more of a reality after all? Thankfully, it looks as though we’re safe for now. That is unless you’re an ameba, in which case: run.