Guest Nicholas Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Not Fossil Related... but interesting. National Geographic: "The discovery of a massive virus that suffers from another virus has reignited debate over whether the microscopic agents of infection should be considered living things rather than bags of genes." Find the link HERE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 All in the definition, which is a human construct. How we classify them doesn't cahnge what they are, nor alter our understanding. Might as well decide that eukaryotes are merely a terribly complicated system for the making of more viruses. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 ^^Except that eukaryotic life can self-replicate; viruses can not. I thought that was the fundamental definition of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 ^^Except that eukaryotic life can self-replicate; viruses can not. I thought that was the fundamental definition of life. Exactly; by definition, viruses are not alive. That they require self-replicating organisms (living things) to produce more of them is rather a nasty twist. From a virus' perspective (not to imply sentience), living cells are the mechanism of their immortality; they are not alive, yet they have a seat at the table of the living. (Let's not even mention prions!) Beyond all my philosophical gibberish, my point is that shifting the parameters of definition does not change that which is redefined, nor (in the case of viruses) does it change our understanding of them. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 OK, I'm not nearly smart enough to debate anything with ya'll, but I'm just wondering - does the fact that I have to eat formerly living stuff to stay alive myself mean that I'm a virus? I mean, I can't replicate without sustenance, so I'm not exactly independent. I'm just curious, mainly because I'm gonna switch sides on wanting them to find cures for everything if I discover than I'm a virus myself... P.S. - The only reason I can philosophize at the moment is because I just had a piece of cherry pie and a Samuel Adams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 You're safe; viruses don't eat. All they do is hijack living cells into making more viruses. Yeast, on the other hand, eats sugar and poops alcohol, bringing us the gift of Sam Adams. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Yeast, on the other hand, eats sugar and poops alcohol, bringing us the gift of Sam Adams. LOL! Sounds like a red neck bed time story for kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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