How viruses made us human
deepseek / deepseek-v4-flash
- Most viruses have the shape of a 20-sided body, and while we primarily know them as pathogens, they are actually a minority in the virus world.
- Marilyn Roossinck, professor emerita at Pennsylvania State University, emphasizes that most viruses do not cause disease; many are neutral or important for the ecosystem.
- She compares viruses to bacteria: people used to fear bacteria, but now we know that ‘good’ bacteria in the gut are essential.
- There are also ‘good viruses’ that play a crucial role in ecosystems and human health.