Science Alert Scientists have just discovered hundreds of new giant viruses, in a comprehensive study covering oceans across the globe.
The team behind the study, marine biologist Benjamin Minch and virologist Mohammad Moniruzzaman from the University of Miami, used bespoke computer software to identify the genomes of microbes in seawater samples – including 230 giant viruses previously unknown to science.
Identifying these viruses is a crucial part of understanding life in the ocean, and in particular the survival of marine organisms known as protists – including algae, amoeba, and flagellates.