Rabbit vs myxoma virus: a 70 years neck-and-neck race coming to a turn
A 70 years arms race has become “one of the greatest natural experiments in evolution”. The two antagonists are rabbits and myxoma virus, which was intentionally released in Australia and Europe in the 1950s, in an attempt to control European rabbit populations. Researchers from Cambridge University investigated the genetic mechanisms that enabled rabbits to escape the deadly virus… that, in the meantime, has been fighting back!