metalmaxilla t1_jbrckv4 wrote
Reply to comment by Binsky89 in Ancient dormant viruses found in permafrost, once revived, can infect amoeba. Findings hint at a much bigger problem—as the planet warms and the permafrost melts, there is a chance of viruses emerging that are capable of infecting humans by Wagamaga
Viruses themselves are not "alive". They exploit a living organism's machinery to cause the infection and have a way to replicate/spread. They simply have to come into contact with another organism with the right door they can get through. So if permafrost melts, it exposes the virus to either wind or water as a mode of transportation to get to living organisms... another way is the melting of its shield allows nearby organisms to come into contact with it.
Sounds like human intervention was needed to isolate samples and prove the hypothesis.
S_A_N_D_ t1_jbrx7vt wrote
Viruses equally rely on their host for binding, cell entry, and replication.
The further we get from these viruses time wise, the less efficient it will likely be at the above.
I really hate these scare articles because there is very little to suggest these viruses actually pose a risk. There is however real risk from organisms that are currently co-evolving their virulence in tandem with us right now.
Binsky89 t1_jbrf11d wrote
Yeah, OP explained what they meant by reviving.
I think it's an extremely poor choice of words for something that was never alive to begin with.
metalmaxilla t1_jbriu02 wrote
It's a key nuance at the basis of the hypothesis that suggests there is a risk of re-emergence without deliberate intervention.
If melting permafrost uncovered intact virus, enabling a susceptible host to be exposed, then infection could theoretically happen.
That is the basis of the epidemiology triad of agent-host-environment.
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