12-20-2005, 11:16 PM
I've checked this when I wrote my book on Alexander; it's a canard. Viruses can develop pretty swiftly and the West Nile virus is not older than about 1,000 years. In an article in Nature (if I remember correctly), someone showed that the current genetic profile of this virus can not have developed at a slower pace. In other words: the West Nile virus can not have been around in the days of Alexander.
And here's another one: isn't it a frightening thought that underneath the melting ice caps of Antarctica, viruses are hidden that were covered many millenniums ago, and for which we are no longer immune?
And here's another one: isn't it a frightening thought that underneath the melting ice caps of Antarctica, viruses are hidden that were covered many millenniums ago, and for which we are no longer immune?
