Mystery new virus found in Brazil named after ‘mermaid who lured soldiers to their deaths’
A MYSTERIOUS never-before-seen virus has been discovered lurking in a lake in Brazil.
Scientists who identified the virus have named it after a mythical mermaid who lured soldiers underwater to their deaths.
It comes amid the deadly spread of a new virus across the world from China.
The new Brazilian virus, which poses no threat to humans, has baffled experts, who found over 90 per cent of its DNA was unknown to scientists.
Dubbed "yaravirus", it's so strange that it may force researchers to rethink how they classify viruses altogether.
"This is one of the reasons why this new virus is so intriguing," said Dr Jônatas Abrahão, a scientist at Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil who helped with the research.
"We claim that it challenges the classification of DNA viruses."
Yaravirus was collected from a single celled organism called an amoeba found in an artificial lake in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
It was named after Yara, a deadly water-queen in Brazilian mythology.
Her song is believed to be irresistible to men who, once under her spell, are dragged underwater to live with the siren forever.
Yaravirus first peaked the interest of scientists as it was considerably smaller than the viruses usually known to infect amoeba.
After looking closely at its DNA, they found it had 74 genes in total. Only six had ever been seen before.
Dr Abrahão said the results showed just "how much we still need to understand" about viruses.
Viruses are among the world's smallest life-forms – and scientists still aren't sure whether they're life forms at all.
They cannot live or reproduce outside of their host organisms, suggesting they're more a complex mash of molecules than living things.
Fortunately for humanity, yaravirus can only transmit from one amoeba to another. There's no sign they can infect or harm humans.
What is a virus?
Here's what you need to know...
- A virus is a tiny particle capable of infecting cells
- They rely on their host to reproduce and survive
- Some scientists think this means viruses are technically not living things
- Viruses are responsible for many diseases, such as influenza and HIV
- They're capabale of infecting every type of organism on Earth
The findings were published in the journal .
Another new virus is currently spreading through the human population with deadly consequences.
Coronavirus, now known as Covid-19, was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing pneumonia-like lung lesions.
It has so far killed 1,115 people and infected over 45,000.
Attempts to find a vaccine for the killer disease are ongoing.
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In other news, almost 200,000 never-before-seen viruses were found lurking in Earth's oceans last year.
Diseases laying dormant in ancient ice could soon be unleashed on humanity due to climate change.
And, scientists have warned that two thirds of ice in the Alps will melt by 2100.
Are you worried about unknown viruses? Let us know in the comments!
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