Ten cool facts about viruses

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facts1. Some parasitic wasps lay eggs in caterpillars, where they mature into adult wasps. The wasp eggs contain a virus, encoded in the wasp genome, which prevents the caterpillar from rejecting the eggs.

2. There are a million virus particles per milliliter of seawater €“ for a global total of 1030 virions! Lined up end to end, they would stretch 200 million light years into space.

3. The genetic information of viruses can be DNA or RNA; single or double stranded; one molecule or in pieces.

4. The name virus was coined from the Latin word meaning slimy liquid or poison.

5. Walter Reed discovered the first human virus, yellow fever virus, in 1901.

6. Viruses are not alive €“ they are inanimate complex organic matter. They lack any form of energy, carbon metabolism, and cannot replicate or evolve. Viruses are reproduced and evolve only within cells.

7. Over 1016 human immunodeficiency virus genomes are produced daily on the entire planet. As a consequence, thousands of viral mutants arise by chance every day that are resistant to every combination of antiviral compounds in use or in development.

8. The first human influenza virus was isolated in 1933. In 2005, the 1918 pandemic influenza virus strain was constructed from nucleic acid sequence obtained from victims of the disease.

9. The biggest known viruses are mimiviruses, which are 400 nanometers (0.0004 millimeters) in diameter. The viral genome is 1,200,000 nucleotides in length and codes for over 900 proteins.

10. The smallest known viruses are circoviruses, which are 20 nanometers (0.00002 millimeters) in diameter. The viral genome is 1,700 nucleotides in length and codes for two proteins.

Bonus fact: The HIV-1 genome, which is about 10,000 nucleotides long, can exist as 106020 different sequences. To put this number in perspective, there are 1011 stars in the Milky Way galaxy and 1080 protons in the universe.

I made up this list a few weeks ago in response to a request from a journalist. The final version, shortened and re-ordered by an editor, was published online at ColumbiaNews.

118 thoughts on “Ten cool facts about viruses”

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  3. Andrew

    Number 9 is incorrect. The largest known viruses are the occluded baculoviruses (Baculoviridae). These DNA viruses measure around 1 micron (1000 nanometers) in diameter.

  4. profvrr

    A very interesting point which brings up some interesting virology not covered here previously. I would not view occluded viruses as true virions in the sense that they cannot directly infect cells. Rather they are a collection of multiple virions packaged in a protective coat that must be disrupted when the occluded particle enters the insect gut. The viruses are then released from the occluded particle and they go on to infect cells. I checked with a few of my virology colleagues and they have a similar view. Which is not to say that others don't agree – it's just the way we view it.

  5. HF

    Nice fact about all the viruses in the oceans lined up would be 200 light years long. I don't know how you calculated it, but the numbers don't work out given your other fact about 10^30 virions in the oceans.

    If the average length of a virus is 100nm (I guess), then the total length of all the virions in the oceans is 10^-7 × 10^30, which is 10^23 meters. 10^23m is over ten million light years! That is long enough for two and a half round-trips from here to the Andromeda galaxy! Far out…

  13. fatoumata djimbi mouity

    this page really helped me a lot today with my project aboout virus thank you

  14. Shona_jee

    Bravo!!!!! actually i m doing bachlors in biotech ,its really really informative stuff 4 me ,….JAZAKALLAH(pray 4 u)

  15. Joe

    THIS…..
    IS……
    AAWWWWWEEEEESSSOOOMMMEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God, you saved my life…..(See, i was doing homework >.<)

  29. Adammansfield55

    I copied all this down on notebook paper for no reason other than the fact I was bored and I love medical science

  32. Robertaistheworst

    THANKZZZZ!!! it helped me with my HOMEWORK!!!! n i am in Africa sooo I say!!!! eish AYOBANESS!!!! TANX AGAIN!!!

  37. kevin28115

    fact 6 and 7 contradict itself.

    6 stats that virus does not evolve while 7 states that  virus mutates. 

    a positive mutation is evolution so the fact about viruses not evolving is false.

  38. rashid4viroogy

    Sir, Thanks for posting virus facts….Sir there are few more facts i wanted to add:

    1. Viruses like Arena virus bear ribosomes for unknown reason, due to which they have sandy appearance( Arena=Sand).

    2. HBV virus is exeption to the defenition as it contains dsDNA as well as traces of RNA.

    3. Vaccinia virus DNA replicates outside nucleus as it bears its own DNA pol.

    4. Polio virus uses protein VpG as primer to replicate its RNA genome( in general, primers are RNA made). In case of HIV tRNA acts as a primer.

    5. Some viruses like “stealth adapted viruses” exhibits zero immune response in host.

    6. Semliki  Forest Virus and Seneca valley viruses do exhibit potential role of Oncolysis in cancer therapy.

    7. Occluded viruses follow conditional infection mode with thier partner viruses.

    8. Kola retrovirus is the only real time endogenous virus ( I am uncertain about MMTV).

    9. Viteria: Viruses of eukaryotes harbour bacterial genes( Virus+Bacteria=Viteria).

    10. Virus(Ad6) belongs to Adenoviridae causes Obesity in mice and humans.

    After considering these facts, Viruses should’nt be boring.

  41. Ebony Tararo

    Those facts really helped me with y Biotechnology homework :L  thanks it was really helpful 🙂

  45. sheldon787

    6 and 7 doesn’t contradict.. it evolves only inside the cell..when it buds out of the cell
    it stays as it is..

  46. Dulith86

    we can not see many virus with an electron microscope. but in 2011 researchers discovered a larger virus named ” megavirus chiilensis” on ocean floor of the coat of las cruces, chile. it can be seen with basic light microscope

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