Viruses are usually small - so small that they can not be seen with the naked eye or with the help of a light microscope. Microbiologists around Michael Wagner, Holger Daims and Matthias Horn from the University of Vienna and the U. S.-American Joint Genome Institute now have found, among others, four different so-called giant viruses in a sample. From the sewage treatment plant Klosterneuburg. The "Klosneuviruses" are a hundred times larger than the flu virus, harmless to humans and may end a year-long controversy over a fourth domain of life. The study is currently published in the journal "Science". [more]
