Are Viruses Alive?
Although viruses challenge our concept of what nourishment(a) means, they are vital members of the web of life
By Luis P. Villarreal
Editors Note: This floor was originally published in the December 2004 issue of scientific Ameri atomic number 50.
In an episode of the classic 1950s television japery The H iodineymooners, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden loudly explains to his wife, Alice, You spang that I know how easy you bewitch the virus. Half a century agone even regular folks like the Kramdens had some knowledge of virusesâ€"as microscopic bringers of disease. Yet it is almost accepted that they did not know exactly what a virus was. They were, and are, not alone.
For approximately 100 years, the scientific community has repeatedly changed its collective object over what viruses are. First seen as poisons, then(prenominal) as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as existence in a gray area between living and inanimate: they flowerpotnot replicate on their own further can do so in truly living cells and can also affect the behavior of their hosts profoundly. The categorization of viruses as nonliving during much of the modern era of biological science has had an unintentional consequence: it has led most researchers to ignore viruses in the occupy of evolution.
Finally, however, scientists are beginning to appreciate viruses as fundamental players in the history of life.
Coming to Terms
It is easy to see why viruses confine been difficult to pigeonhole. They seem to vary with each lens employ to examine them. The initial interest in viruses stemmed from their knowledge with diseasesâ€"the word virus has its roots in the Latin marches for poison. In the late 19th century researchers realized that certain diseases, including rabies and foot-and-mouth, were caused by particles that seemed to behave like bacteria but were much smaller. Because they were clearly biological themselves and could be spread from one victim to another with obvious biological effects,...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com
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