What researchers uncovered are entities they've chosen to call “obelisks.” They do not resemble typical life forms & their name comes from distinctive shape.
Unlike standard viruses, they do not appear to encode protein shells. These differences suggest that life’s definitions might need some rethinking.
<br /> It is not just a single type of obelisk. Thousands of unique varieties have turned up when scientists comb through genetic datasets.
Obelisks don't fit neatly into existing categories. Not standard viruses, classic bacteria, & not exactly viroids. Discovery hints we may be missing entire classes of RNA-based life challenging current textbooks. This complicates efforts to catalog & understand the full range of microbial life."
https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-find-new-forms-of-life-inside-humans-rna-carriers-obelisks/
https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3ldubsiail62g
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/s/AX3pVnfU25
#marshaltown
