In some rare instances , so-called “giant viruses” can grow to as much as 1,000 times larger than their relatives. So far, the majority of most known giant viruses so far have only been identified in Europe and South America. Giant virus life cycles and spread are still not very well understood. But while Jyvaskylavirus is Finland’s first catalogued giant virus, Sundberg made clear it certainly isn’t the last. “Other new giant viruses were also detected in [our] environmental samples,” they teased.