"Virus-Like 'Obelisks' Discovered in Human Gut Microbes"

Scientists have discovered a new class of virus-like entities called "Obelisks" in the human gut and mouth, which are a type of viroid that likely infects bacteria. These viroids, named for their predicted thin rod-like shape, were found in nearly 7% of human gut gene-activity summaries and in about 53% of mouth gene-activity summaries. While the specific impact on human health is still unknown, the discovery may shed light on the influence of viroids on the human microbiome and contribute to the ongoing debate about the evolution of viruses and viroids.