The world is packed with viruses. Millions upon millions of viruses and billions upon billions of virus particles.
Humans have known since 1900 that viruses can make us miserable. The word virus comes from a Latin word meaning slimy poison.
For all the trouble they cause, you might think that viruses have bat cave conventions where they recount their most famous attacks, and, of course, find a mate.
Nope.
Viruses aren't alive.
Vincent Racaniello, professor of microbiology & immunology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, writes in his virology blog, that viruses are inanimate, complex organic matter.
They don't have energy.
They don't have a metabolism.
They cannot replicate or evolve by themselves. Instead, viruses are reproduced and evolve only within cells.
But they do infect every living thing, including people. They are in the human bloodstream and intestines at all times in the millions.
In the oceans of the world, there are 10 to the 30th power viruses that infect bacteria — or a million per teaspoon of seawater. There are so many of them, that if you put the infinitesimal virus particles end to end, they would reach 100 million light years into space. Whales in the oceans excrete millions of viruses and there is some evidence that these viruses can cross into humans. Remember that at the next splash show.
There are, in fact, more viruses in a liter of seawater than there are people on earth.
Every human on earth is infected with certain viruses. One of them, says Racaniello, is some form of the herpes virus. Every human has it and it lasts forever.
Viruses exist in either DNA or RNA. About 60% of the genetic sequences in human blood are viral.
As you might expect, scientists believe all life actually need some viruses.
U.S. Army doctor Major Walter Reed in 1901 led a team that confirmed the theory of a Cuban scientist Carlos Finlay. Finlay speculated that yellow fever was transmitted by a particular mosquito species. Reed proved Findlay was right and the first virus was identified.
If you are interested in the ubiquitous virus, check out Racaniello's 2018 lecture series on viruses, available on YouTube.
