why do viruses try to kill the thing keeping them alive?
In: Biology
Viruses dont “try” anything. They’re loose cellular nuclei carrying RNA to reprogram living cells to make more viruses. How such an arrangement came into being is still not really understood, but I’d say a virus is about as intentional in its actions as a toxic compound is in it’s reactions, they just exist and do specific things in specific conditions.
Ultimately most viruses dont kill their hosts, as doing so at least within a short period actually reduces their infection rates so high lethality is usually selected against in viruses. Highly lethal viruses that spread easily are rare for that reason, so its uncommon to see them.
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