Are we a virus?

[*Marmite*]

amam seems right there; the first living organism must have been either a bacterium or a virus (something small anyways...i dont like biology). if it was a virus we have decended from viruses, if it was a bacterium then at some point in time one bacterium will have been infected by a virus, thus changing its genes to the viruses genes. is it possible that still today, however many billion years later, the most basic trait of a virus' DNA, "to multiply untill all resources have been exhausted then move on", is still within our genes? stands to reason.....other basic traits reman; the instinct to feed, reproduce etc. why not the virus trait?

 

then again, other animals must have also decended from those very earliest organisms, so why dont they behave in such a way? perhaps it is because they CANNOT behave like this, for exhausting all their resoures would mean the extiction of their species. the will to survive overrides most other instincts. humans are the most intelligent beings on the planet...we are capable of exhausing natural resources and finding an alternative afterwards. maybe this ablity gives rise to the natural virus trait.

 

maybe im just rambling lol

[fafalone]

Viruses evolved from bacteria.

[aman]

We'll know if we are like a virus when we discover life in the stars.

If we invade it, capitalize on all its resources, and leave it a dead memory, then we are a virus.

If we coexist and both gain, then we are finally humans as a society.

Just aman

[Zeo]

aman, you seem to be the only one to truly grasp the scope of this topic. Everyone here is seeming to forget that I said the virus thing was a METAPHOR. Maybe I wasn't clear. What i really meant was that we emulate viruses. Mimic them. Inadvertently of course, but still.

[fafalone]

Since there are some of us who realize what we're doing and are trying to stop it proves we're not a virus; this is an instance where its important not to look at the race as a whole.

[Radical Edward]

Originally posted by Zeo

aman, you seem to be the only one to truly grasp the scope of this topic. Everyone here is seeming to forget that I said the virus thing was a METAPHOR. Maybe I wasn't clear. What i really meant was that we emulate viruses. Mimic them. Inadvertently of course, but still.

 

but fundamentally all life follows that particular path - the prolific dissemination of it's genetic line. infect a planet with bacteria and it will become infested with them (assuing they can survive) and the same would go for absolutely any animal, plant and so on. the only difference is, like virii, we have no natural predator, and hence can multiply with impunity.

[fafalone]

A primary limiting factor in animal reproduction is the carrying capacity of the environment. Populations are limited by available food and presence of predators. If animals had the ability to overcome these, all species would reproduce and spread like humans. Animals don't choose to limit the size of the population; they have no choice.

[spuriousmonkey]

Originally posted by fafalone

Viruses evolved from bacteria.

to be more specific,

didn't they think that viruses evolved from plasmids???

[Glider]

Originally posted by fafalone

It's not living, but it's not non-living. And it's alot closer to living things than non-living things.

 

This is true. Like seeds, viruses are spoken of as being 'viable' not 'alive'. You can't kill a virus, but you can render it inviable. Viruses fulfill none of the criteria for life (e.g. respiration, reproduction, ingestion, excretion etc.). In their most simple form, they are simply a strand of viral RNA in a protein coat.

 

Originally posted by fafalone

Viruses evolved from bacteria.

Given that bacteria are alive, and in some cases are surprisingly complex organisms, how do you reconcile your two statements?

 

In any event; "Are we a virus?" I don't think so. It doesn't work, even as an analogy. A better question might be "Are we bacteria?". On a global scale, the human species shows several startling similarities to bacteria.

[spuriousmonkey]

plasmids are really simple are a natural part of bacteria to exchange genetic information...hence a virus could have evolved from plasmids?!

[Radical Edward]

Originally posted by spuriousmonkey

plasmids are really simple are a natural part of bacteria to exchange genetic information...hence a virus could have evolved from plasmids?!

 

failing that, something like mitochondria.

 

without a good understanding of what very very early pre and quasi cellular life looked like, it is difficult to say how virii and bacteria evolved. It might just have been that virii were a very early form of like that preyed on other reproductive strands of DNA/RNA, hijacking some of their mechanisms and reproducing themselves. they probably both came about at the same sort of time, in much the same way that common day symbiotic and parasitic relationships have done. It is unlikely that virii are an evolutionary throwback.

[Glider]

Originally posted by Radical Edward

failing that, something like mitochondria.

 

It might just have been that virii were a very early form of like that preyed on other reproductive strands of DNA/RNA, hijacking some of their mechanisms and reproducing themselves. they probably both came about at the same sort of time, in much the same way that common day symbiotic and parasitic relationships have done. It is unlikely that virii are an evolutionary throwback.

 

I agree. I think this is much more likely (but for 'early form of life', read early form of 'pre-life').

Mitochondria are interesting in themselves; an excellent example of symbiosis. Living organisms didn't evolve mitochondria, mitochondria evolved on their own and were incorporated into other single celled organisms millions of years before multicellular organisms evolved. Without them, it is unlikley that multicellular organisms could have evolved at all. But having evolved independently, they still retain a degree of functional independence. They carry their own DNA and can reproduce independently of the cell they occupy. They provide the cell with the energy it needs and in return are provided with all they need by the cell.

Yay for mitochondria! The best friends we have.