What are Obelisks?

About Obelisks:

• It is a newly discovered class of virus-like entities present in the human body.
• It comprises a class of diverse RNAs that have colonized and gone unnoticed in human and global microbiomes.
• Named after the highly symmetrical, rod-like structures formed by their twisted lengths of RNA, the Obelisks' genetic sequences are only around 1,000 characters (nucleotides) in size.
• These mysterious bits of genetic material have no detectable sequences or even structural similarities known to any other biological agents.
• They're also significantly larger than other genetic molecules that coexist inside cells, from plants to bacteria, called plasmids, which are more commonly composed of DNA.
• Obelisks represent their own class of organism. They lie somewhere between viruses and viroids.
• Although the hosts of other obelisks remain unknown, there is a possibility that some of them may be found in bacteria.
• Different types of Obelisks appear to be present in different areas of our bodies.

What are Viroids?

• Viroids are tiny loops of RNA, a genetic cousin of DNA, and they've been found to infect primarily plants.
• Viroids differ from larger, RNA-based viruses in several ways.
  • First, they're naked, lacking the protective shells that viruses use to hold their genetic material. 
  • Second, their RNA doesn't contain instructions to build proteins; whereas viruses carry instructions for their outer shells and for certain enzymes they need to replicate, viroids co-opt these enzymes from their hosts.