New kind of virus makes scientists rethink infection

A new kind of virus is making scientists rethink how infection works. This virus, found in mosquitoes, is broken up into several pieces. If the mosquito doesn’t come into contact with at least a few pieces, it won’t get infected.

This shakes up our existing knowledge, which is that once you come in contact with any part of a virus you get the full infection. In a study published Thursday in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, scientists describe how this new virus — named Guaico Culex after the Culex mosquito found in Guaico, Trinidad — works.

Other viruses have all their genes packaged together. Guiaco Culex has five genes packaged separately, and a mosquito needs to come in contact with at least four different pieces for anything to...