Biology News Three :)

Did Life Start with a Virus?

Charles Siebert

Discover Magazine Presents: Evolution

Summer 2011, Pages15-20

This article explained the discovery of the “Mimivirus” and the idea that a virus might have started out life on earth. It first explained that the general stereotype of a virus is a parasite that only harms. But actually, contrary to popular belief, there are many viruses in the world that have no harmful effects whatsoever. It also gave details on the debate amongst scientists regarding whether the virus is living or nonliving. Many believe that it exists in-between the two classifications. The article then approached the subject of the “Mimivirus” which is a very large and very complicated virus that lead scientists to suggest that viruses may have evolved just like normal cells. This virus, however, only infects amoebas, and is not harmful humans or animals. There was even a larger virus found nicknamed “Mamavirus” that helped this idea. A new theory was made that proposes that an ancestor of this giant virus may have come about before the 3 main domains of cells, and played a key role in inventing the cells that all complex organisms such as humans are made up of today. Another topic that was brought up was the presence of virophages. A virophage is just like a bacteriophage but it is a virus that infects another virus instead of bacteria. The virophage “Sputnik” was found to infect the “Mamavirus,” which makes scientists argue even more about the living status of viruses. Many believe that if a virus can be infected, then it is a living thing, but others disagree.

This article has a big impact on the way scientists view the world, but it has very little to no impact on normal peoples’ everyday life. This new theory only confirms the idea that scientists don’t know everything there is to know about the world and that they will always be discovering new things. Some scientists may find their whole thinking turned upside-down by this new discovery, but I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal. My life won’t change by knowing my cells evolved from a virus, because it already happened. The only possible negative effect of this discovery is that it might freak out some people. Because of this, I don’t think that scientists even needed to share this new find with the public. This knowledge doesn’t change anything about the world; it just helps scientists to better understand it. By knowing this, they may even be able to help predict what will happen in the future or maybe find out more about how viruses work and how to stop stubborn ones like influenza and HIV. This new breakthrough doesn’t answer any questions about the universe, it just asks more. Because of this, the scientific world has opened up many more theories as to how the world was created and how life had evolved.

Personally, I don’t think anyone my age really needs to read this article. It was interesting, but it was geared more towards adult audiences, specifically those with backgrounds in biology. I think that science teachers, college students with science majors, and adults interested in biology would be most entertained by this article. It wasn’t life changing, but it was a pleasant read full of cool information about viruses. There was a section about DNA and RNA that was a little confusing, but I believe that once I learn more about cells and viruses, this article will make a lot more sense.  (591 words)