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LEGACY. “Many of the attributes of cells that exist today can be traced back to simple viral origins.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

ORIGIN. “Ancient giant Mimi virus may have been able to replicate without a host, and have served as the first cellular nucleus, a command and control center that allowed life to get more elaborate.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

TRANSITIONS. “Viruses were involved in all of the major evolutionary transitions. We need to rewrite the first chapter of evolution. Evolution got jump-started by a virus.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

TOTAL BLANK. “The history of evolutionary biology is essentially devoid of considering the consequences of viruses, especially those that persist and colonize.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

FUNDAMENTAL IDENTITY. “So what really marks the distinction of us from are nearest relative are the viruses that colonized our respective genomes. The viruses were directly involved in differentiating our lineage from the chimpanzee lineage. In that context, it’s not junk, it’s who we are.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

FORK IN THE ROAD. “Long ago, when viruses integrated into primates, they began redrawing their blueprint.” Beneficial changes accumulated and primates gave rise to a new species, homo sapiens. “And as both species went their own ways, both species were continually colonized by their own unique viruses.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

CHEATING PLANTS. "One of the consequences of such sexual specialization is that reward levels to pollinators often differ between male and female flowers as a result of sexual selection. Such specialization leads, in some cases, to cheating by one deceptive sex, which can be either male or female." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this explosive topic about the viral impact on evolution. In context, we are still engaged in the bizarre and arcane discussion of whether viruses are actually alive or not. And, the tree of life taxonomists have not permitted a branch to include the most prevalent creature on this planet. Further, evolutionary biologists are still debating angels on a pinhead about Darwin’s nuances. No wonder these provocative and compelling ideas have fallen in deaf ears. View in LinkedIn

EXTINCTION AND SPECIATION. "In clades with a large number of dioecious species, Vamosi and Vamosi found a higher extinction rate as well as a lower speciation rate than in their non-dioecious sister clades, a difference that may be explained by the strong sexual dimorphism displayed by dioecious species." https://lnkd.in/e8CyHKf View in LinkedIn

WONDROUS QUESTIONS. “How will viruses redraw who we are? What might a new human look like? How might they construct their societies, their culture, their art? What would it mean to be human? For viruses, the long march goes on.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn