Viruses create and change life - shibby check this out

[Bouncer]

Shibby, you see the the show on NGC about viruses being responsible for life and mutation? Pretty interesting show that has many scientist changing their belief about how life began and how evolution works.

They found a virus kept popping up in the womb of pregnant sheep. When they isolated this virus and killed it, they found that the pregnancy failed. This was the first evidence that a virus actually helps and creates life. They have since found this to be the case on other species as well.

They also found a virus that does not need a host to live. Almost a living creature in an of itself.

I believe is was NGC Explorer Viruses or something like that.

[Bouncer]

Explorer | The Virus Hunters | National Geographic Channel

comes on today at 6pm!

[Shibby]

Thanks got it set up to record. My wife is very interested too. She said the part about the virus not needing a host is interesting because it's kind of like an oxymoron, that the virus by definition needs a living host to exist.

[Bouncer]

Thanks got it set up to record. My wife is very interested too. She said the part about the virus not needing a host is interesting because it's kind of like an oxymoron, that the virus by definition needs a living host to exist.

yup, the definition of a virus as it stands says it needs a host. but this strain may just change the definition of everything, life included.

check it out bro, very interesting.

[Bouncer]

shib, you watch this?

[Shibby]

We actually watched about 15 minutes today. Right to where they noticed that those 10 people have an animal virus in them. Then we had to stop it for now.

[Bouncer]

watch the rest jackass.

[Shibby]

I did yesterday evening. It was very interesting but I let Magda give the review since that's her field. My nerd knew so much about what they were saying. Some of it she knew and some of it would make what she was taught invalid.

[Bouncer]

yea, lets here what she has to say. pretty interesting shit.

[magdalena]

Definitely an interesting thing to watch.
I agree that a virus can alter the DNA since many of them are able to "inject" themselves into the host's genome. However, the viruses being responsible for creating new species seems like a pretty new and highly controversial idea. I have never heard of Mimi virus, since it does not fit into the description of the virus (not microscopic and not needing a host) why not call it something else? I had some bio classes last year and none of the highly knowledgeable Ph.D professors mentioned something about it. I know that this field is ever- changing so who knows. I am just a little skeptical of the whole idea, want more proof. We will see in a few years where the idea of a virus being responsible for creating different species takes us.

[Bouncer]

Definitely an interesting thing to watch.
I agree that a virus can alter the DNA since many of them are able to "inject" themselves into the host's genome. However, the viruses being responsible for creating new species seems like a pretty new and highly controversial idea. I have never heard of Mimi virus, since it does not fit into the description of the virus (not microscopic and not needing a host) why not call it something else? I had some bio classes last year and none of the highly knowledgeable Ph.D professors mentioned something about it. I know that this field is ever- changing so who knows. I am just a little skeptical of the whole idea, want more proof. We will see in a few years where the idea of a virus being responsible for creating different species takes us.

i agree with that. interesting but need more evidence/studies etc..

[Shibby]

Something I thought about with the discovery of a virus without a host and the way virus's can be a catalyst for life... How close are we to finding a antivirus of sorts for when we get sick. At one point people thought it was crazy to thing a fungus could kill bacteria, then we created the antibiotic. If we did create a medicine for the cold virus how fast would it adapt to something worse.