Germany’s Max Planck Institute Finds Giant Virus Hijacks Cell Machinery
Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk
February 22, 2026
7:08 pm
Scientists from Germany’s Max Planck Institute have discovered that a giant virus called mimivirus hijacks host cells’ protein-making machinery to multiply up to 100,000 times faster. The virus makes a complex of three proteins that takes over ribosomes, forcing cells to produce viral proteins instead of their own. Published in Cell on February 17, this is the first experimental evidence that viruses can co-opt a system typically associated with cellular life.
