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Writer Fuel: How Much of a Risk Are “Zombie Viruses”?

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Locked away in frigid Arctic soils and riverbeds is a world teeming with ancient microbes. Bacteria and viruses that existed thousands of years ago are frozen in time inside prehistoric layers of permafrost. Warming temperatures could cause much of the ice to melt and unleash these microbes from their frosty prisons. Once free, unknown pathogens … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Scientists Invent ‘Shape-Shifting’ Antibiotic to Fight Superbugs

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The spread of drug-resistant “superbugs” — including bacteria that have evolved to thwart even the most potent antibiotics — represents an ever-growing threat to public health. Now, scientists have invented a new type of antibiotic that can take down these germs by rapidly rearranging its atoms and thus changing its shape. The researchers described the … Read more

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Writer Fuel: What Are “Zombie Viruses” and Are They Dangerous?

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There is a frozen soup of viruses, bacteria and fungal spores lurking beneath the frigid Arctic soil. Unlike the icy leftovers in the back of your freezer, some of these microbes haven’t interacted with a cell since well before ancient Egyptians built the Pyramids of Giza. As climate change continues to cook the planet, however, … Read more

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WRITER FUEL: Do Viruses Secretly Rule the Oceans?

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Thousands of mysterious viruses that were recently discovered lurking in the world’s oceans may exert huge influence over the ecosystems, in part by “reprogramming” the hosts they infect, scientists reported. The new research, published Thursday (June 9) in the journal Science (opens in new tab), focuses on viruses that contain RNA, a molecular cousin of … Read more