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I find trying to comprehend what is happening at the cellular level mindbogglingly impenetrable.
Just thinking about the random mutations that gave rise to such a complex and precisely malicious piece of RNA is enough to tip me into existential crisis. As I understand it, the virus doesn't have any objective at all (it has no consciousness), but it's characteristics have been selected for by its evolutionary environment, and now it is wildly successful? Successful enough to put a highly evolved species and civilization into crisis. It is fucking bonkers.
And on the physical level the idea that this weird bit of random stuff (most likely originating from bats) invades and corrupts cells, makes my skin crawl.
So yeah #fuckcovid
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Reading things like your response to finding out about what goes on at the molecular level in biology reminds me how lucky I was to spend YEARS in science. And also how fucking stupid I was in not working harder.
The realisation microorganisms are the real owners of this planet is a big one. -
And on the physical level the idea that this weird bit of random stuff (most likely originating from bats) invades and corrupts cells, makes my skin crawl.
If you don't like the sound of that, you'd hate knowing about how and why almost all your cells contain mitochondria. Dare you...
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Read up on macro viruses if you fancy a long read, they may be one of the key ancestors of modern cells.
Kurzgesagt on YouTube on the immune system is also super interesting.
We too are part virus. One virus is written into all mammals genes to enable pregnancy.
Still, I rather give covid19 a miss! And many other viruses too.
Chalfie
Brommers
JWestland
Interesting article on the SARS2 genome and how the virus works:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/03/science/coronavirus-genome-bad-news-wrapped-in-protein.html