Scientists in Japan have discovered a new type of virus which could redefine our understanding of viruses and how they propagate and spread, all while sifting through pig feces. Unlike most other organisms which fall under the definition of 'life,' viruses have no cells: they are merely a particle of genetic material (RNA or DNA) within a protein shield that is capable of infecting a cell before replicating. While sifting through pig feces, as you do, researchers from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) came across a virus which defied everything we thought we knew about the infectious agents. "The recombinant virus we found in this study has no structural proteins," says virologist Tetsuya Mizutani from TUAT about the strain of a type of enterovirus G (EV-G) the team encountered. "This means the recombinant virus cannot make a viral particle." This particular "defective variant" of the virus the team uncovered lacked even the limited protein container found in