Obelisk

General Science Discussion
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An obelisk is a microscopic genetic element that consists of a type of infectious agent composed of RNA. Described as “viroid-like elements”, obelisks consist of RNA in a circular rod shape without any protein shell coating.

Obelisks were identified in 2024 by Ivan Zheludev (Stanford) et al. Their RNA sequences are entirely novel, and their placement within the tree of life remains uncertain as they do not appear to have a shared ancestry with any other life form, virus, or viroid. Obelisks are currently classified as an enigmatic taxon, forming a distinct phylogenetic group.

Read more about Obelisks here.

Since obelisks were discovered in 2024, they are quite new and not much research has been done. I think this makes obelisks the perfect research topic for Eterna. We should get in touch with Zheludev and start a new lab. Let me know what you think

2 Likes
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This is very interesting. I would be happy to work on the subject in Eterna Labs!

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Thx for the article!

I recently saw a video on the topic viroids. When I checked the papers cited in the video, Zheludev’s is among them. :slight_smile:

Scientists Found a New Type of Life Hidden inside Our Bodies

Summary

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Sorry, I can’t seem to embed the video as usual. Something about the format has changed.

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@ilikebball What type of Eterna puzzle are you proposing? I’m not understanding how an Eterna puzzle could further their research. Clue me in!

The Das Lab is pretty busy with new research projects that we will be hearing about in 2026 and 2027. One being more work on the Replicase. I hope to have data from the pilot round in the next couple months.