The virus has been living in humans for decades now, might influence obesity and diabetes

Jul 24, 2014 19:03 GMT  ·  By
Researchers announce the discovery of virus believed to live in half the world's population
   Researchers announce the discovery of virus believed to live in half the world's population

It's always fun to learn new things about the human body. If your idea of fun is feeling like your eyes are about to pop out of your head and like your jaw will not only fall on the floor, but also do a slip in midair while on this epic journey, that is.

Not to beat about the bush, scientists are happy and proud to announce the discovery of a new virus that has been living in the gut of about half the world's population for decades, and that somehow managed to stay hidden for years on end.

According to biologists with the San Diego State University in the US, this virus, now referred to as crAssphage, infects a common gut bacteria dubbed Bacteroidetes. This bacterium is known to influence both obesity and diabetes.

Hence, it is believed that the newly discovered virus might also have a say in how and why people come to develop these conditions, maybe even other diseases having to do with the intestinal tract, EurekAlert explains.

“It’s not unusual to go looking for a novel virus and find one. But it’s very unusual to find one that so many people have in common. The fact that it’s flown under the radar for so long is very strange,” specialist Robert A. Edwards said in a statement.

“We’ve basically found it in every population we’ve looked at. As far as we can tell, it’s as old as humans are,” the San Diego State University bioinformatics professor went on to comment on the discovery of this virus.

Scientists plan to further study crAssphage and hope that this virus could help develop new and better treatments for obesity, diabetes and other similar medical conditions.