Definition of Life gets a bit fuzzier.

[swestrup]

Generally speaking, biologists have mostly drawn the life/non-life dividing line between the bacteria and the viruses. Now however, Mimivirus has seriously clouded the issue. The largest virus ever found, Mimivirus has 10 times the DNA inside it than many bacteria, and is leading some folks to re-evaluate the history of life. It may be that viruses are not parasitic latecomers but a holdover from another era that have (mostly) discarded unneeded genetic material as they adapted to their parasitic niche.

The article pointed to is also interesting in that it mentions viroids, the metaviral satellites (which prey on viruses as they prey on cells), two things which I had not heard of before.

Now personally, I'm not too shocked by all of this since I've usually drawn the life/non-life line between viruses and prions, but I still find it very interesting.

Comments

[sps.livejournal.com]

...Stephen, once again, can't find the box.

"Oh, we have found a larger virus." This is a conceptual phase-change, how?

"The DNA virus looks suspiciously like a nucleus." Did they go to a different highschool from me, or what?

I mean, good gravy, isn't "where did the cellular organelles come from" just what everyone talks about over coffee?

Boggled boggled boggled.

Why does there have to be a line between 'living' and 'nonliving' anyway? Isn't that like saying there's a debate about the line between 'hill' and 'valley'?

Please, world, stop hurting my head....

PS

[sps.livejournal.com]

You know, 'life' is a unipole. Its opposite is the construct, 'nonlife'. Do people worry about the exact technical definition of 'nonblue'? No, they are happy saying, oh, look, that's blue. This isn't very blue. Sure, I agree, but it's bluer than that. You think so? Take it over by the window. Oh, right, I see what you mean.

Did I mention where good gravy?