Hijack from The finches of Darwin were all the same species, but Darwin thought they would be interlinked different species

[sethoflagos]

1 hour ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

VIRUSES AREN'T ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So you're quite happy to accept that dead things can be subject to Darwinian evolution but living things cannot?

Really? 

 

[iNow]

7 hours ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

That is the first thing you have said that I agree with.

It's okay if you often disagree with me. I can't force you to be right.

[Ocho Cinco Jr]

7 hours ago, sethoflagos said:

So you're quite happy to accept that dead things can be subject to Darwinian evolution but living things cannot?

Really? 

 

No, I'm saying that viruses aren't living things, therefore, they cannot evolve or mutate.

[Phi for All]

9 hours ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

VIRUSES AREN'T ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!

Moderator Note

The claim made was about viruses evolving, which they do. The claim said nothing about viruses being alive. So no, this is NOT false information, but thank you for reporting it. In the future, this is the type of information you can verify online at reputable sites.

 

[Ocho Cinco Jr]

10 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

!

Moderator Note

The claim made was about viruses evolving, which they do. The claim said nothing about viruses being alive. So no, this is NOT false information, but thank you for reporting it. In the future, this is the type of information you can verify online at reputable sites.

 

They can swap genertic information with the host, that's called mutation. Bacteria can also do this through conjugation, transformation, and transduction. They aren't creating new genetic information either, just swapping it.

[swansont]

10 hours ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

Everything that I have stated has been facts, not beliefs.

Like how 18.92 mm is smaller than 1 cm?

[StringJunky]

1 hour ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

They can swap genertic information with the host, that's called mutation. Bacteria can also do this through conjugation, transformation, and transduction. They aren't creating new genetic information either, just swapping it.

Not correct, mutation is a spontaneous corruption of part of the genetic information somewhere on a DNA/RNA strand caused by some environmental factor, which could be caused by a virus. When viruses replaces a host cell's genetic information, it's called 'molecular hacking'.

Edited June 9, 2022 by StringJunky

[sethoflagos]

5 hours ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

No, I'm saying that viruses aren't living things, therefore, they cannot evolve or mutate.

There are many mechanisms through which evolution may occur, but let's take the simplest

A virus can undergo an inheritable point mutation of a single nucleotide base in its genome, altering its protein expression in a manner that effects either positively or negatively the new strain's fitness for survival.

A fruitfly can undergo an inheritable point mutation of a single nucleotide base in its genome, altering its protein expression in a manner that effects either positively or negatively the new strain's fitness for survival. 

Darwinian evolution is totally indifferent to where you pin your arbitrary classification of 'life'. It simply identifies any parent-offspring relationship and acts on it without any prejudice whatsoever. Virus, fruitfly, prion particle, or humanity, it's all grist to the mill.

You seem to be pretty upset by this concept (all capitals, thirteen exclamation marks, negative reps and complaints to management upset apparently). Perhaps it's time to ask yourself whether the object that you're clutching onto for dear life is a lifebelt or a lead weight. 

[CharonY]

7 hours ago, Ocho Cinco Jr said:

They can swap genertic information with the host, that's called mutation. Bacteria can also do this through conjugation, transformation, and transduction. They aren't creating new genetic information either, just swapping it.

As mentioned, it seems that you do not understand some basic biology concepts. Mutations are changes in the genetic makeup of an organism. They can be caused by external factors (radiation, chemicals) but are also frequently caused by errors in the replication of the material. These errors are especially common in viruses, as they tend to have fewer systems to control for fidelity during copying.

Conjugation, transformation and transduction has little to do with mutations per se, they are modes of horizontal gene transfer. These can lead to mutations e.g. by recombination events, during which external DNA is integrated into the genome, but they are something else entirely.

Also btw, transduction is a mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer that relies on virus. Here, the virus accidentally puts some sequences from their host into their capsule and transfer it to a new host. 

But again, random mutations are not reliant on any of these mechanisms.