Re:An Uncommon Cold
by red75prime on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @03:37AM
(#25655791)
> Evolution needs viruses, in the same way the universe needs entropy.
The question is do we need the blind god of evolution.
not just the placenta, we're full of these botched germ-line viruses.
endogenous retroviruses in mammals are amazing. primates owe to one or more ERVs the effectiveness of the p53 gene activation (p52 is a tumor suppressor gene).
That's a nice theory and it seems very likely to be true: that viruses have driven evolution, perhaps much faster than without them.
But the cost for individuals is tremendous, 99.9999999% cases the infection would not be beneficial.
Perhaps in a short while we can do much better ourselves, it certainly seems we humans want to transcend evolution and death.
fascinating idea, we should trascend.. the alternative is death
Re:An Uncommon Cold
by ajsnigrutin on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @03:33AM
(#25655778)
> I don't think eradicating viruses is a good thing.
Yep, if nothing else, we need them to "train" our immune systems.
Treating the coronavirus as a flu would be a best option... vaccinate the most exposed and vulnerable groups, and let others get it.
My personal opinion is that we should strive to create antidotes when the body fails to fix itself, instead of removing the threat altogether. Evolution needs viruses, in the same way the universe needs entropy.
1. https://whyy.org/segments/the-placenta-went-viral-and-protom...