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And between members of a species - virii when reproducing using host cells can end up with transcription errors just as normal dna transcription does - and the

And between members of a species - virii when reproducing using host cells can end up with transcription errors just as normal dna transcription does - and the host's genes end up part of the virus, which then infects others - this is how virii mutate and jump species. Within 20 years gaian thinking probably won't seem so silly - we are part of a macro organism.

grkvlt 11y ago
FYI, the plural of 'virus' is actually 'viruses' [1] according to English dictionaries and reference souces. 1. http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/plural-of-virus.html http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/plural-of-virus.html
Artistry121 11y ago
Do you have any reading/watching recommendations for understanding this hypothesis more?
- smackay 11y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis edit: replaced with Wikipedia page which has more detail.
- jerf 11y ago
  Perhaps a more scientific take on it would be to look up the term "co-evolution". Which is also my counter-criticism of the idea that this idea destroys the objection to GMO... the natural mechanisms still co-evolved with us ("us" being the whole biosphere here). It is mathematically reasonable to be concerned that fully artificial genetic manipulation is of a different kind, and not merely of a different quantity. (Even ignoring that in the latter case, sufficient quantity takes on a quality of its own.) Generally I've been pretty positive on GMO food but I have to admit that the mathematical argument against it has a certain potency, when you understand the mathematics of evolution. There is a significant qualitative difference between coevolved mechanisms and artificial mechanisms that ignore that history. I'm still not convinced that our current skills are really great enough to produce some sort of disaster, but that's a debate point with an expiration date on it.
adamgravitis 11y ago
...with just really bad inter-node bandwidth.

grkvlt 11y ago

FYI, the plural of 'virus' is actually 'viruses' [1] according to English dictionaries and reference souces. 1. http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/plural-of-virus.html http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/plural-of-virus.html

Artistry121 11y ago

Do you have any reading/watching recommendations for understanding this hypothesis more?

smackay 11y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis edit: replaced with Wikipedia page which has more detail.
jerf 11y ago
Perhaps a more scientific take on it would be to look up the term "co-evolution". Which is also my counter-criticism of the idea that this idea destroys the objection to GMO... the natural mechanisms still co-evolved with us ("us" being the whole biosphere here). It is mathematically reasonable to be concerned that fully artificial genetic manipulation is of a different kind, and not merely of a different quantity. (Even ignoring that in the latter case, sufficient quantity takes on a quality of its own.) Generally I've been pretty positive on GMO food but I have to admit that the mathematical argument against it has a certain potency, when you understand the mathematics of evolution. There is a significant qualitative difference between coevolved mechanisms and artificial mechanisms that ignore that history. I'm still not convinced that our current skills are really great enough to produce some sort of disaster, but that's a debate point with an expiration date on it.

adamgravitis 11y ago

...with just really bad inter-node bandwidth.