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Showing results for tags 'merek disease virus (mdv)'.
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It appears that scientists plan on altering the genome of a deadly chicken virus in hopes of recreating the less virulent form of the virus. Merek disease virus (MDV) is a highly lethal virus that kills 90% of unvaccinated chickens and costs the poultry business one billion dollars each year. It was observed that the virus was less lethal before the 1900s. Scientists have examined nearly 1,000 chicken bones from archaeological digs across Europe, some 2,000 years old. By comparing the ancient genomes with the modern MDV genome, point mutations were discovered in the modern virus. It is thought that these mutations were the cause of the modern virulence of the virus. Scientists have synthesized the ancient, less lethal gene and inserted it into living chicken cells. This new hybrid virus did not show the lethality of the modern virus. What could go wrong with altering natural viruses? /sarc https://www.livemint.com/science/health/reviving-ancient-viruses-can-help-fight-modern-ones-11707805683759.html
