List of All Articles with Tag 'vi'

There is devastation after a vehicle with five people on board crashes on the way to a school dance.

If there’s one thing the Covid pandemic taught us, it’s that viruses shouldn’t be underestimated. People are, therefore, taking note after scientists discovered a whole new range of giant virus-like particles (VLP) that have taken on “previously unimaginable shapes and forms.” The microscopic agents, resembling everything from stars to monsters, were found in just a few handfuls of forest soil. The sample was collected from Harvard Forest, near Boston in the US back in 2019, and flown over to Germany’s Max Planck Institute. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter There, its contents were carefully examined and, at the end of last month, the findings were finally released. The team of researchers behind the investigation said that their discoveries “question our current understanding of the virosphere” and “imply that giant viruses employ a much wider array of [...] structures and mechanisms to interact with their host cells than is currently known.” In other words, the results prove how little we actually know about the universe of viruses that exist here on Earth. They also noted that the origins and functions of the different viral structures they found remain unknown – so there’s still plenty of mystery left to solve. The team at the Max Planck Institute, led by Dr Matthias Fischer, were amazed to find “an astounding diversity of virus-like particles (VLP)," in such a small sample. "Amazingly, we found that a few hundred grams of forest soil contained a greater diversity [of the structures] than that of all hitherto isolated giant viruses combined," they wrote. These included one type that resembled a supernova: Another that the teamed named the “haircut”: Another called the “turtle” morphotype: Another christened the “Christmas star”: And another called the “Gorgon” – named after the sisters with snakes for hair from Greek mythology: To clarify, VLP are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but they differ from them in one crucial way: they are non-infectious. This is because they contain no viral genetic material. Still, as virus-host systems, they are key to better understanding their potentially noxious counterparts. “[Our] findings imply that giant viruses employ a much wider array of [...] structures and mechanisms to interact with their host cells than is currently known,” the authors wrote. They ended their paper: “This fascinating window into the complex world of soil viruses leaves little doubt that the high genetic diversity of giant viruses is matched by diverse and previously unimaginable particle structures, whose origins and functions remain to be studied.” Clearly, there’s still plenty of work to be done. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A man who spent $22,000 transforming himself into a collie has hit back at online trolls who have called his desire to be a dog a “fetish”. The Japanese man named Toco has had a lifelong dream to become a collie and has dropped several thousand dollars in order to do so. But, since taking his first public “walk” in his newly transformed state, haters online have told him he needs “therapy”. Clips of Toco walking around as a dog went viral as he did tricks like rolling over, playing fetch and other dog-like actions. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On Twitter, someone wrote: A Japanese man spent over $20K for this border collie costume. You cannot convince me this isn’t some weird sex thing.” But, Toco has hit back at online haters, arguing that it is simply his hobby and there is nothing nefarious about it. Dogs and people's reactions to seeing a realistic dog costume! www.youtube.com Toco explained: “I’m just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie.” He continued: “This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too.” Toco revealed that he has been dreaming of transforming into a dog since he was a child. He said: “Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard.” Toco continued: “I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside.” In order to achieve his dream, he spent 2 million yen on a hyper-realistic collie costume made by the company Zeppet, which usually takes commissions from TV and film studios. The final costume took 40 days to make and involved multiple revisions to get perfect. However, Toco does understand that some people will find his hobby strange. In one video, he said: “I haven’t told anyone about my transformation into a dog,” adding, “I am still afraid that my friends will find my hobby bizarre.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

'Napoleon' director Sir Ridley Scott has told why he cast Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French Emperor, revealing he had a moment of inspiration while watching the actor in 'Joker'.

Danny Dyer is in talks to star in a sequel to 'The Football Factory', 20 years after the original was released.

Toyota’s profit for the first fiscal quarter jumped to 1.3 trillion yen, or $9 billion, hitting a quarterly record for Japan’s top automaker

Gold purchases in India this year are forecast to drop to the lowest since the Covid-19 pandemic hit

Two military-ruled West African nations vowed Monday to prevent military intervention in Niger as a military junta attempts to consolidate power after a coup

The recovery in Macau’s casino sector strengthened in July, with gaming revenue returning to about 68% of pre-pandemic

The Fox News audience remains firmly in Donald Trump's corner.

Japan’s unemployment rate fell in June, feeding into optimism that upward pressure on wages may persist and help

By Isla Binnie NEW YORK Large U.S.-based asset managers have shown waning interest in encouraging companies in which