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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to reveal details of a diverse and fundamental branch of life living right under our feet and in every corner of the globe.

A total of 161,979 new species of RNA virus have been discovered using a machine learning tool that researchers believe will vastly improve the mapping of life on Earth and could aid in the identification of many millions more viruses yet to be characterized.

Published in Cell and conducted by an international team of researchers, the study is the largest virus species discovery paper ever published.

"We have been offered a window into an otherwise hidden part of life on earth, revealing remarkable biodiversity," said senior author Professor Edwards Holmes from the School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney.

"This is the largest number of new virus species discovered in a single study, massively expanding our knowledge of the viruses that live among us," Professor Holmes said.

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