Science Memes

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viruses (mander.xyz)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 150 points 5 months ago (32 children)

Okay, this got me curious. From the wikipedia article on viruses:

Viruses are considered by some biologists to be a life form, because they carry genetic material, reproduce, and evolve through natural selection, although they lack the key characteristics, such as cell structure, that are generally considered necessary criteria for defining life. Because they possess some but not all such qualities, viruses have been described as "organisms at the edge of life" and as replicators.

[–] theangryseal 11 points 5 months ago (8 children)

I’m no scientist but I’d say, “Do it reproduce? Do it evolve? Do it try to survive? Bruh, it’s alive.”

I’m no scientist though. Just an idiot watching thangs. :p

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Do it reproduce?

Not by themselves, no. They need to take over a cell's replication machinery for that.

Do it evolve?

Yes, as they are subject to natural selection.

Do it try to survive?

I don't think so, they don't try anything to do anything, they just are... but the same can probably be said for most actually living organisms, including many relatively complex ones, so I don't think it can be used as a way to determine if something is alive or not.

[–] rektdeckard 1 points 5 months ago

Most interesting definition, I think, comes from contrapposto. Can it die? No. So long as it retains its "shape" more or less, it functions. If heated or denatured, it no longer functions. More like broken than dead.

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