Virus – this is a word that you’ve probably heard plenty in your daily life, and perhaps you even have a working understanding of what this invisible threat is capable of. Over the past two years, viruses, which previously enjoyed a less than mild reputation, are now seen as far more dangerous.
Now viruses are usually dubbed as a killer, menace, and even villains. While these words might seem fitting but, can you kill something that is already dead? For example, let’s assume you are in a zombie movie. Sure, you can kill the evil mastermind behind the zombie apocalypse but can you (re)kill his army of the undead?
Talking Virus
Science is a subject that continues to evolve, and as science advances, it will continue to rid itself of the previous redundant theories and replace them with newer, more plausible ones. A simple example would be the Milky Way Galaxy, which was once assumed to hold our planet Earth at its center, with all the stars revolving around the sun.
To Be Alive or Not To Be Alive
Nowadays, there are 120+ signs of life. Some important ones that viruses don’t exhibit include the inability to metabolize, the lack of cells, the inability to reproduce independently, and the ability to only replicate the DNA or RNA from the host cells. However, there are some traits of viruses that show signs of life. For example, they evolve, they consist of the same building blocks, and once they enter the host cell, they adapt.
The Living Dead
Viruses also work uniquely. Once they enter the host cell and corrupt it, they start replicating at a furiously high speed and take over the neighboring cells. But when they are done, they don’t entirely leave.
They leave their genetic material which means that the genetic sequences continue to take place in the organism, maybe not in an active but rather inactive way. This odd phenomenon has pushed the scientists into an unexplainable paradox, making viruses a unique case of their own kind. From what it seems, viruses are alive and dead at the same time.
Isn’t that interesting? How many more things can you think of that are both alive and dead at the same time?