COVID FB Post 2020 09 21 VIrus R US
“If it wasn’t for a virus, it (mammals, humans) might not have happened at all.” (“The Viruses that Made Us Human,” PBS NOVA, 9/28/16)
Science has determined that “a symbiotic retrovirus enabled it (the predecessor to mammals) to evolve a placenta over many generations,” according to the PBS show.
This symbiotic relationship with viruses (and other elements of our environment, including bacteria, mold, fungus, etc.) has helped us to understand that evolution is not a competition for survival but a cooperation for survival.
The fact that a retrovirus contributed so importantly in this one step of evolution, the placenta, is only one of many examples of how viruses have played roles in helping us become who we are and to survive. A PubMed article describes the importance of a retrovirus in the functioning of stem cells, the generalized cells that can become specialized cells in any part of the body.
Indeed, about 8% of human genetic material comes from a virus according to Science Daily.
As to the origin of viruses, there are competing theories (Nature article). Like all scientific theories on how and from what the universe began, God is not an option. That would not be science! This is a reminder that science is not the whole, and you cannot believe wholly in it.
We, the people, have a need for a better understanding of viruses.
The last post in The COVID Chronicles was The Vital Virus. “Vital” is a true description of the virus. The next chronicle will look at the antibody (“Auntie Body”) and its role in the intertwined existence of human and virus.
PBS NOVA article, “The Viruses that Made Us Human:” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/endogenous-retroviruses/
PubMed article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25896322/
Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100107103621.htm
Nature article: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/the-origins-of-viruses-14398218/
Next Chronicle
“If it wasn’t for a virus, it (mammals, humans) might not have happened at all.” (“The Viruses that Made Us Human,” PBS NOVA, 9/28/16)
Science has determined that “a symbiotic retrovirus enabled it (the predecessor to mammals) to evolve a placenta over many generations,” according to the PBS show.
This symbiotic relationship with viruses (and other elements of our environment, including bacteria, mold, fungus, etc.) has helped us to understand that evolution is not a competition for survival but a cooperation for survival.
The fact that a retrovirus contributed so importantly in this one step of evolution, the placenta, is only one of many examples of how viruses have played roles in helping us become who we are and to survive. A PubMed article describes the importance of a retrovirus in the functioning of stem cells, the generalized cells that can become specialized cells in any part of the body.
Indeed, about 8% of human genetic material comes from a virus according to Science Daily.
As to the origin of viruses, there are competing theories (Nature article). Like all scientific theories on how and from what the universe began, God is not an option. That would not be science! This is a reminder that science is not the whole, and you cannot believe wholly in it.
We, the people, have a need for a better understanding of viruses.
The last post in The COVID Chronicles was The Vital Virus. “Vital” is a true description of the virus. The next chronicle will look at the antibody (“Auntie Body”) and its role in the intertwined existence of human and virus.
PBS NOVA article, “The Viruses that Made Us Human:” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/endogenous-retroviruses/
PubMed article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25896322/
Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100107103621.htm
Nature article: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/the-origins-of-viruses-14398218/
Next Chronicle
