Giant viruses found in Mariana Trench, observed by Chinese scientists.

If the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, is lowered into the Mariana Trench, it will sink completely. You can only see the top of Mount Everest in the Mariana Trench when you dive to a depth of one and a half kilometers above sea level! It is this last depth that makes the Mariana Trench a favorite area of ​​researchers. Chinese scientists have discovered viruses the size of the Mariana Trench that can be seen with the naked eye.
Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, is about 36,000 feet deep. Sunlight (up to a maximum of 3300 feet) does not reach one-seventh of this region, which is 1100 times higher than atmospheric pressure. But it is amazing the presence of life here as well. This part of the ocean, which is believed to have formed about 180 million years ago, is an Akshaya mine for oceanographers. The first Challenger expedition from 1872 to 1876 identified about 4700 species.

Bringing samples from Challenger Deep is technically fraught with many challenges. But five years ago, the Chinese research ship Zhang Jian successfully completed the mission. Fifteen different viruses and more than 100 microorganisms were identified from this sample. In addition to the high pressure, there is a severe cold and very little food potential in this isolated part of the world, says a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Li Xuan says in the study.

About 4% of the items found at the bottom of the Challenger Deep were mimic viruses. The Mimi virus was initially misunderstood by the scientific community as a bacterium. Behind this misconception was the size of about 700 nanometers and the fibrous body that can sometimes be seen with the naked eye.

Leak and the team who conducted the study did not have the opportunity to study the samples collected directly from Challenger Deep. However, they have been able to make significant discoveries based on data from researchers. These mimic viruses, which are larger than other viruses, have been found to destroy cells in some mammals. But human beings have not been able to recognize that there is any kind of challenge this way.