This is a bacteriophage T2. It looks rad as hell.

>>2436524
Post viruses OP.

>>2436524
That's actually a brown recluse

Yes, but does it have an immune system?

Are viruses alive? I remember my bio teacher saying that they don't count as living things.

>>2436821
no they're not alive, they are in a form of statis until they are in the right conditions. Viruses origins are alien, probably from space debris millions of years ago. But they've evolved rapidly to infect billions of things on our planet.
The ayys are among us

>>2436524
They actually walk with those legs, yes? Without muscle and bones to pull against how do they do it? Are there papers I can read on this kind of thing specifically?

>>2436844
Who needs nanobots when you can have biobots?

>>2436821
I wouldn't say they are as they don't replicate on their own and do not have any metabolism. Whats really cool about them is they are in that grey zone of between what is life and what is non-life.

>>2436821
They are essentially machinery or physical "computer programs". Technically not living, but very cool nonetheless

>>2436885
Pretty sure the "legs" are more like clamps to hold them in place while they implant rna into a host cell

>>2436885
The "legs" are used for attachment to the cell walls of bacteria. If I remember correctly they are able to contract and pull the phage. Here is a short article from nature on phages. They are really interesting.
http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/journal/v13/n12/box/nrmicro3564_BX1.html?foxtrotcallback=true

>>2436889
If we acquire the technology to 3D print on a molecular level, we could engineer artificial virions that can introduce a desirable DNA strand into living cells for genetic therapy. We should give them a very short lifespan, however, to prevent complications caused by possible mutations.

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>>2436931
>for genetic therapy

that's nice of you anon, that you think this way but in reality we all know this will be used for other purposes first and foremost.

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>>2436933
Ohhhhh...

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>>2436923
Even its body is machine-like. Spooky.

>>2436925
They're more than just clamps. The tips engage proteins that cross the bacterial membrane and like keys unlocking a door open a protein gate that allows the RNA in the capsule to enter the interior medium and get replicated and printed into more proteins. Unlocking the door also triggers a cascade of of mechanical messages in the viral proteins through the legs into the capsule that engage molecular motors that drive the RNA into the bacillus.

Molecular motors are fascinating. This animation shows all the steps in something much more complicated, the means by which a white blood cell moves from a capillary into inflamed tissue, how it appears to know to do this without really knowing anything. We're not much more than the same machines the virus is made out of, just more complicated.

https://youtu.be/wJyUtbn0O5Y

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>>2436933

>>2436951
Thanks anon, pretty cool video too. It always blows my mind how "random" element configurations can create these awesome configurations that work so great. That's why biochem is my second favorite field

>>2436972
Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Virology are so fucking cool. What is your first favorite field?

>>2436974
Pharmacology honestly just because it's awesome how humanity can create these compounds to alter/take advantage of how our bodies work for our own gain. I'd also throw parasitology in with your suggestions too because they are amazing in how they manipulate their hosts bodies to reach their final form.
/sci/ will occasionally have threads were a parasitoligist anon talks about parasites that are great reads

>>2436976
Parasitology is definitely a great and neglected field. Wish I found these paraistology threads on sci besides shitty IQ threads.

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>>2436977
This was my personal favorite from those threads, Leucochloridium paradoxum.

>It is typically found in land snails of the genus Succinea that live in Europe and North America where it infects the host’s eyes making them appear as caterpillars that other birds prey on. Various birds consume these infected gastropods, becoming the definitive host for L. paradoxum to mature and release eggs in the rectum that are later found in the feces of the bird host.

>>2436978
Parasite "mind control" is the freakiest shit. I remember reading somewhere that T. gondii infection can literally make mice get close to cats and get eaten. Also, infection with T. gondii may be linked with schizophrenia in humans. Its crazy shit.

>>2436981
Definitely, it's basically the realistic version of zombies. That one ant fungus seems to be the bases of the last of us. I wish parasites got more love in popular media because they are some spooky shit when you get down to it. Unfortunately tapeworms seems to be the only parasite people know about

>>2436986
>>2436986
I think headcrabs did it better than the brain fungus. Reprogramming an ant is not like reprogramming a person.

>>2436524
What's cool is that it injects its DNA into the target cell and induces it to produce massive amounts of T2 bacteriophage until it bursts.

>>2437048
As far as I know that's the modus operandi of all virus. Correct me if there is a virus species that doesn't destroy the host cell to reproduce.

T2 Terminator 2

>>2436933
Do you mean war or porn?

>>2436931
We can already do that with CRISPR

>>2437052
Microbiologist. A lot of phages can actually reproduce through both the lysogenic and lytic cycles. Lytic breaks open the cell, lysogenic implants viral genetic material into the host and uses it as a factory, but doesn't break the cell until it needs to. It's actually how a lot of cellular toxins are produced like diphtheria toxin and pyogenes' exotoxin, which causes scarlet fever.

>>2436821
Depends how you define life. I like to think they are because they carry genetic material and reproduce. I think there was some research that analyzed protein folds of many viruses and a lot of cells and it determined that both types share a common organism.

So are they living? Kinda. Depends how you look at it.

>>2437109
I like to think of them as pieces of living things that continue their functions. That or some of them are oversimplified cells that continue to spread it's RNA/DNA in the most simple way possible.

>>2437056
Both, just think about tossing missiles with a gas that releases spermicide on a nation.

>>2437126
Also a good way of looking at it. It's definitely still up in the air, and I love it because either side can make really good cases.

>>2437129
Nuke Asia

Do archaea-phages exist?

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>>2437484
Yes, they do. However, they aren't called phages, and have some crazy structures.

>>2437103
Lysogenic conversion is a really cool topic. Its interesting to see how the phages can change bacterial genomes so much.

I would consider them alive since we all seem to consider that kind of frog that can coma itself for months or years to be alive even during its dormant state.

Viruses last a long time but erosion and the elements wear them down eventually if the conditions aren't fit for them. They're able to last so long only because they don't expend that much energy, right? If they were more active they'd need a source of fuel. Sitting around or being blown around in the wind, they aren't expending anything.

I'm a total novice about this stuff though so please correct me if I'm wrong.

>>2436976
Is there much designing in pharmacology?
Really? Because the process seems mostly like
>shits on fire yo
>we've got all these liquids
>try throwing them on the fire and see what happens
>cooking oil
>no
>gasoline
>definitely no
>beer
>ok we're back down to where it was before gasoline
>coca cola
>it's almost out
>water
>it's out
>solution: coca cola is the best fire extinguisher followed by beer

Phage display is p. cool

>>2437515
>they don't expend that much energy, right?

One of the defining characteristics of viruses is that they have no metabolism, meaning that they expend literally zero energy. In definitions of 'life', you'll usually find that a metabolism is required. Hibernating animals still have a metabolism, but they drastically decrease theirs in order to survive through times of low resources (e.g. winter or a drought). Hibernators would still fall under the definition of 'alive'.
With that said there are other reasons that viruses remain in a gray area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus#Life_properties

>>2436524
Maybe viruses were sent here millions of years ago by aliens who wanted to study our planet, and so they created nano-probes to infest our bodies and send information on our genes and DNA via some unknown incredibly long range communication system?

>>2437794
>Sir, it appears 100% of the human population is sick. We anticipate their destruction in another decade or two.

Thread theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiLerf_2V80
No seriously, someone decided to make a video on Bacteriophages with this in the background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w4C74cu6dk

>>2437532
Accurately sums up a few reports I've read

>>2437099
CRISPR is outdated. I forgot if it was UPenn or Harvard, but they're both reverse-engineering an enzyme to actually change the DNA instead of destroying and re-glueing it together.

>>2440817
How with the poor old CRISPR babies be able to live in this society of new, improved non-CRISPR superbabies?

Why there's no biology in /sci/? It's always full if crappy boring autistic math