The other side of viruses
[EN] In 1892, the Russian biologist Dmitri Ivanovsky described a non-bacterial pathogen that infected tobacco plants. He did not know it, but he had just discovered a new biological entity: viruses. These infectious agents are still a conundrum for scientists. It is not even known if they are alive or not, since they do not have their own metabolism and they need cells (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) to be able to reproduce. They could therefore be defined as ‘obligate parasites’. What completely well known is that viruses are the most abundant biological units on earth. In total, it is estimated that there are 10^31 viruses inhabiting the planet, a number that far exceeds the number of stars (10^24) in the observable universe. To illustrate this, it is said that, placed side by side, viruses could form a chain of about 10 million light years. [...]
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | entrada de blog biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
CSIC - Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM)
2020-11-02
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/224168 |
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| Summary: | [EN] In 1892, the Russian biologist Dmitri Ivanovsky described a non-bacterial pathogen that infected tobacco plants. He did not know it, but he had just discovered a new biological entity: viruses. These infectious agents are still a conundrum for scientists. It is not even known if they are alive or not, since they do not have their own metabolism and they need cells (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) to be able to reproduce. They could therefore be defined as ‘obligate parasites’.
What completely well known is that viruses are the most abundant biological units on earth. In total, it is estimated that there are 10^31 viruses inhabiting the planet, a number that far exceeds the number of stars (10^24) in the observable universe. To illustrate this, it is said that, placed side by side, viruses could form a chain of about 10 million light years. [...] |
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