@[email protected] to Ask ScienceEnglish • 9 hours agoAre there beneficial viruses?message-square10fedilinkarrow-up124arrow-down12
arrow-up122arrow-down1message-squareAre there beneficial viruses?@[email protected] to Ask ScienceEnglish • 9 hours agomessage-square10fedilink
minus-squarethreelonmusketeerslinkfedilinkEnglish31•edit-29 hours agoI assume you mean beneficial to humans? Viruses make up a large portion of Earth’s ecosystem, and a large class of them help keep bacteria in check. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage There are even efforts to try and harness them to treat bacterial infections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phage_therapy
minus-square@[email protected]linkfedilinkEnglish18•8 hours agoAdditionally, a good chunk of our DNA is from ancient viruses, so homosapiens wouldn’t be what we are today without viruses.
I assume you mean beneficial to humans?
Viruses make up a large portion of Earth’s ecosystem, and a large class of them help keep bacteria in check.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage
There are even efforts to try and harness them to treat bacterial infections.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phage_therapy
Additionally, a good chunk of our DNA is from ancient viruses, so homosapiens wouldn’t be what we are today without viruses.