Computing Science
Magazine
July-August 2011
July-August 2011
Volume: 99 Number: 4
In the past few years, virologists have discovered and characterized several families of giant viruses called, collectively, nucleo-cyto-plasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs), or less formally, giruses. Physically huge compared to previously known viruses, the giruses possess unprecedentedly large genomes of 300 kilobase pairs to 1.2 million base pairs. Mimivirus, shown on the cover, is the biggest of them all (but perhaps not for long now that we know they are out there and are actively looking for them). Mimivirus is an amoebal pathogen that has been revealed by metagenomic studies to be among the most abundant of the ocean's biota. As James L. Van Etten explains in "Giant Viruses," these ancient biological entities are teaching us a great deal about the history and unsuspected diversity of viral forms. To see the full cover spread, click the image at right. (Images created by Campbell Strong and Gaël McGill, Digizyme Inc., using Molecular Maya.)
In This Issue
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Communications
- Computer
- Engineering
- Ethics
- Evolution
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Physics
- Policy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Technology
The Future of Time: UTC and the Leap Second
David Finkleman, Steve Allen, John Seago, Rob Seaman, Ken Seidelmann
Computer Technology
Earth's clocks have always provided Sun time. But will that continue?
Alone in the Universe
Howard A. Smith
Astronomy
Despite the growing catalog of extrasolar planets, data so far do not alter estimates that we are effectively on our own
