One of the theories how organisms switched from RNA to DNA is due to viruses. Viruses have a pretty wild range of their genetic diversity. Single strand DNA, double strand DNA, positive sense single strand RNA, negative sense single strand RNA, double strand RNA. We’ve also probably got viruses as a permanent part of our genome from some ancestor species.
I think they’re pretty cool. Also, they do respond to outside stimuli, otherwise they’d be completely inert.
TootSweet@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Who’s going to tell them about prions?
Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de 18 hours ago
Fucking prions. When I first learned about them in high school they really made me freak out. They are like the new game+ final boss of things fucking with things. Like how can they even infect other things, fucking mangled and misfolded looking ass
deranger@sh.itjust.works 17 hours ago
Definitely don’t think about the overpopulation of deer, the spread of CWD, the fact that deer are commonly found in corn fields, the US loves corn, and the plants can take up prions from the soil.
That interspecies barrier seems like it’s the only thing between us and a huge disaster.
…umn.edu/…/plants-can-take-cwd-causing-prions-soi…
Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 hours ago
They’re like an origami figure folded wrongly that causes any properly folded origami figures to become misfolded when it comes in contact with them.