You may be thinking of many different questions this could possibly be about, such as: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" - nope! Or, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" - try again! How about, "What is the meaning of life?" - wrong.
The correct answer is, "Are viruses alive?"!!
This has been very controversial in the scientific community for many, many years. The most commonly accepted answer is, no. The basic requirements for an entity to be considered "alive" are as follows: capability of homeostasis, being composed of one or more cells, presence of DNA and RNA, metabolic activity, ability to grow, adaptability, response to stimuli, and the ability to reproduce.
Based on these qualifications, viruses fall short. However, a group of scientists in Illinois disagree. Since one of the main arguments is that viruses are not able to survive outside of a host, this group argues that there are other living species that rely on a host to complete their life cycle, so technically without that host, the other organism would cease to live and/or reproduce.
Other supporting evidence these researchers are gathering and focusing on is the composition of a tree of life that includes viruses by tracking their evolutionary history through their protein folds. These folds give a virus its shape and hundreds of these folds have been found in both viruses and cells. Also, viruses have been able to adapt and become infectious to cells that had been previously resistant, which is said to be the "hallmark of parasitism." Only about 5% of the estimated population of viruses have been discovered and sequenced, so it is possible that the key to this question lies in that 95%!
Do you think this is enough to change your mind? If not, what evidence (if any) would satisfy your skepticism? Comment below!!
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150925142658.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life
http://www.biolegend.com/NewsLegend/091615blog/AreVirusesAlive2.png
It's kind of semantic, isn't it? It really depends on how you want to define life. Let me ask you a similar question. Is a hot dog a sandwich?
ReplyDeleteVery true!
DeleteMy definition of a sandwich is meat between pieces (or a piece folded over) of bread, so yes.
I'm counting on that 95%. I believe that they will find a virus that meets all the criteria to be considered alive.
ReplyDeleteI'm counting on that 95%. I believe that they will find a virus that meets all the criteria to be considered alive.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about viruses in that aspect "there are other living species that rely on a host to complete their life cycle". When you put it in that sense, then yes viruses could be considered a living organism! (In my point of view)
ReplyDelete