The human body has always been crowded with microscopic passengers, from bacteria to viruses and fungi. Over the past two years, however, researchers have started to realize that this familiar cast list was incomplete. Hidden in our mouths, guts and even inside our cells, scientists are now describing entirely new biological entities that push at the edges of what counts as life.
These discoveries range from strange RNA rings that behave like stripped‑down viruses to a previously unknown organelle tucked inside human cells. Together they suggest that our own bodies are home to a richer and more mysterious ecosystem than textbooks ever acknowledged, and that understanding these residents could reshape how I think about health and disease.
Meet the “obelisks,” tiny RNA rings that defy the rulebook
The most dramatic of the new findings centers on microscopic entities called obelisks, which are built from RNA rather than DNA and seem to form rod‑like rings inside human‑associated microbes. Early work from teams at Stanford University and the Technical University of Valen identified these structures as “viroid‑like elements,” meaning they resemble plant pathogens that carry only genetic instructions without any protein shell. In large genetic datasets, the researchers found that Obelisks form a distinct phylogenetic group, separate from known viruses and cellular organisms, which is why some scientists now argue they represent a new branch on the tree of life.
What makes these RNA circles so striking is how common they appear to be once you know how to look for them. By mining metatranscriptomic data from the human gut, one research team reported that Obelisks show up again and again in samples that were originally collected for other microbiome studies. Another group, analyzing mouth and gut bacteria, found that these RNA rings can fold into elongated rods, which is how they earned their name. In that work, the scientists reported that Dubbed obelisks, these elements appeared in a substantial fraction of mouth samples, underscoring that they are not rare curiosities but routine inhabitants of human‑linked microbes.
From obscure RNA to “new life forms” inside humans
As more groups have joined the hunt, the language around obelisks has sharpened. Some researchers now describe them plainly as new life forms living in and on people, a claim that reflects both their abundance and their independence from known categories like viruses or bacteria. One report framed them as New virus‑like entities that share no detectable sequence or structural similarity with any known virus or bacterium, a level of novelty that led one scientist to call the discovery “insane.” Another analysis emphasized that Mar researchers could now glimpse the long‑term evolution of viruses on Earth by studying these elements, because their stripped‑down genomes may preserve ancient strategies for replication that predate more complex pathogens.
Other teams have gone further, arguing that obelisks deserve to be treated as a distinct biological entity in their own right rather than as a quirky subtype of virus. One group described the newly found RNA circles as a New Obelisk Lifeform that Is Hiding Inside Humans, stressing that the elements appear to replicate and persist in ways that are not yet understood. Another report, focusing on the human microbiome, highlighted how Scientists now see these RNA entities as part of the complex ecosystems of our body’s microbes, potentially influencing how those microbial communities behave.
How scientists actually found them
Behind the headlines is a story about new tools as much as new organisms. Obelisks were first flagged when teams at Stanford University and the Technical University of Valen sifted through vast sequencing archives, using algorithms to spot RNA structures that did not match any known virus, bacterium or human gene. That initial Analysis treated the elements as a new form of life hidden inside the human body and raised Initial hypotheses about whether they might be symbionts, parasites or molecular fossils. Follow‑up work has focused on Structural and Functional Analysis, using Bio‑informatics to map how the RNA folds and which microbial hosts it prefers.
Other groups have approached the mystery from the clinical side, looking at real‑world samples from patients. In CINCINNATI, a segment from WKRC described how Researchers believe they have detected a new type of life form inside the human body that had been missed by traditional methods, in part because standard tests are tuned to known pathogens. Another report on social media highlighted how Newly discovered microscopic organisms in the body might one day be linked to conditions like diabetes and mood disorders, although that connection remains speculative and, based on available sources, any direct causal role is Unverified based on available sources.
What these entities might mean for health
For now, the biggest question is whether obelisks and similar RNA elements are harmless passengers, helpful partners or stealthy threats. Some microbiome specialists suspect that these RNA circles could subtly steer the behavior of the bacteria that host them, for example by changing which genes those microbes switch on in the gut or mouth. One report on Scientists who discover new life forms called obelisks inside humans described them as RNA carriers that may influence how microbial communities interact with the immune system, a possibility that could eventually tie them to inflammation or resilience against infection. Another analysis framed the discovery as a chance to rethink how Humans and their microbiomes co‑evolve, since these RNA entities might act as mobile genetic tools that shuttle information between species.
At the same time, several researchers are careful not to overstate the medical stakes before the basic biology is nailed down. One early commentary on Mysterious Obelisks Discovered in Humans, But What Are They, stressed that scientists are still working at the edge of what constitutes life and that it is too soon to label these entities as pathogens. Another report that described the findings as Humans carrying around a busy community of microbes and virus‑like RNA obelisks also noted that no clear conclusions can yet be drawn about their impact on disease risk.
The surprise inside our own cells
Obelisks are not the only hidden residents forcing biologists to redraw their diagrams. Inside human cells themselves, researchers at the University of Virginia Sc have reported a previously unknown organelle, a specialized structure that appears to help cells manage how internal compartments fuse and communicate. The team dubbed this structure a “hemifusome” and described it as a kind of collar between two vesicles, suggesting it may control how membranes merge and cargo moves within the cell. In their announcement, they emphasized that the Jun discovery of this organelle could change how scientists think about processes like nutrient uptake and signal transmission.
Follow‑up coverage of the same work described a Mysterious New Structure, written By Michelle Starr, that introduced readers to hemifusomes with the phrase “Meet hemifusomes,” underscoring how unfamiliar they are even to specialists. The report noted that these structures seem to sit at the junction of vesicles inside cells, acting as a collar between the two vesicles and potentially orchestrating how they fuse. For me, the fact that such a basic component of cell architecture could remain hidden until now is a reminder that the human body still contains uncharted territory, from the RNA rings in our microbiomes to the organelles tucked inside our own tissues.
More from Morning Overview