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Newly Discovered Virus Lives in Half the World's Population

Scientists are eager to find out whether the new virus that infects gut bacteria could promote health or influence susceptibility to certain conditions

Jul 28, 2014 |By Rachael Rettner and LiveScience
A virus


The new virus, which the researchers have named crAssphage, is a type of virus known as a bacteriophage that infects bacteria. (A close-up of bacteria is shown above.)
Credit: Taragui via Wikimedia

A virus that lives in the human gut has just been discovered, and to the surprise of scientists, it can be found in about half the world's population, according to a new study.

While it's not yet clear exactly what the virus does, scientists are eager to find out whether it promotes health or influences susceptibility to certain conditions, said Robert Edwards, a bioinformatics professor at San Diego State University and one of the researchers who worked on the study.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/newly-discovered-virus-lives-in-half-the-world-s-population/