MYSTERIOUS VIRUS-LIKE LIFE FORM FOUND IN HUMANS

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Scientists have found a unique virus-like entities hiding in the human gut and mouth

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In these genetic material, they couldn't spot sequences or structural similarities known to any other biological agents

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These "viroids" have been named Obelisks and comprise a class of diverse RNAs that have gone unnoticed in humans

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The Obelisks have been named after the highly-symmetrical, rod-like structures formed by its twisted lengths of RNA

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They are only around 1,000 nucleotides in size - one of the reasons why researchers failed to notice them so far

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These "viroids" have been found to infect primarily plants, such as potatoes

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Some of the key differences between Obelisks and "viroids" are that they lack the protective outer shells

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Secondly, their RNA doesn't contain instructions to build proteins, they co-opt and replicate these from their hosts

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In all, the researchers identified nearly 29,960 examples of the "viroids" in a pre-print paper

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The study has been conducted by Stanford University biologist Ivan Zheludev and colleagues

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