viruses want to live too

[Guest guest]

I remember we were talking about the theory of viruses making us do

strange things--like crave certain foods, forget to take supplements,

etc. Then the other day I was in the bookstore and picked up a book

on mushrooms and happened to run across this paragraph (along with an

interesting photo).

From Mycelium Running by Staments

(the photo was of an ant with it's mouth bit into a leaf, and a

mushroom spore coming out the middle, or perhaps growing on, the ants

back. The caption read:)

Cordyceps lloydii--fruiting from a carpenter ant in Costa Rica. the

ant, once infected, has the irresistible impulse to climb to the top

of the jungle canopy. Once it has ascended and locks its mandibles

into a leaf it dies. This behavior ensures that the spores of the

mushroom will be spread far and wide by the wind.

So the spore is not a virus, but still a living thing that wants the

conditions necessary to its own survival, even if it means the death

of its host. It drive the ant host to crawl to the top of the canopy

and bite a leaf. That's pretty specific. Amazing, huh? Why would a

human virus be any different? Both mushroom and virus--living things

looking to survive.

samala,