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One universal antiviral to rule them all?

(www.cuimc.columbia.edu)
331 points breve | 1 comments | 26 Aug 25 14:07 UTC | HN request time: 0.205s | source
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mcculley ◴[26 Aug 25 18:38 UTC] No.45030508[source]▶
I always wonder this and maybe people in the comments here know the answer: If humans had the technology to eliminate all viruses on Earth, what would be the outcome? Do viruses keep other bad things in check? Would there be bad consequences if we eliminated all viruses?
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1. asdff ◴[26 Aug 25 22:13 UTC] No.45033011[source]▶
Loss of genetic diversity overtime will happen as well as a different path of evolution. Much of what you see on earth today is the result of virus-host interactions shaping evolutionary outcomes. Viruses are capable of providing horizontal inheritance of genetic material.