Comment on viruses
flora_explora@beehaw.org 3 months agoThey actually don’t have a metabolism, that’s why they don’t fall into the definition of life in the first place.
Source Wikipedia: “Although they have genes, they do not have a cellular structure, which is often seen as the basic unit of life. Viruses do not have their own metabolism and require a host cell to make new products. They therefore cannot naturally reproduce outside a host cell”
MindTraveller@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Man, all these biologists going on about cell structure are in for a rude awakening when we run into silicon based life forms. Or even Commander Data
flora_explora@beehaw.org 3 months ago
A rude awakening? Maybe. But a fascinating one!!
MindTraveller@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Why can’t they be fascinated and produce a universalisable definition now? How am I supposed to trust their opinion of whether a virus is alive if they can’t even get Commander Data right? Commander Data is way easier to philosophically understand than a virus.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 3 months ago
Sorry, I’m unfortunately too much of a literal, analytical thinker to continue this line of joking. Maybe I don’t even fall into the definition of life myself, who knows…