Spyke

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Telorandreply
reddthat.com

Additionally, a good chunk of our DNA is from ancient viruses, so homosapiens wouldn't be what we are today without viruses.

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That's the case for most species.

As a very specific and highly functional example of critical viral proteins in other organisms, there wouldn't be any placental mammals without viruses. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placenta

Mammalian placentas probably first evolved about 150 million to 200 million years ago. The protein syncytin, found in the outer barrier of the placenta (the syncytiotrophoblast) between mother and fetus, has a certain RNA signature in its genome that has led to the hypothesis that it originated from an ancient retrovirus: essentially a virus that helped pave the transition from egg-laying to live-birth.

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There are viruses that make some plants look more appealing to some people. For example they are the cause of these striped patterns on tulip petals.

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lemmy.ca

There is the "Luck Virus" and "Sexual Magnetism Virus" poor Rimmer

6

Some viruses are useful for studying genes - you can make them transfer a genetic sequence into a cell.

They can be used in gene therapy - a very promising field of medicine.

And some viruses could also be used instead of antibiotics, which could potentialy solve the resistence problems and also help avoiding collateral damage to symbiotic bacteria. (Research of this technology is quite old, unfortunately it was abandoned for a long time and everyone focused on antibiotics instead.)

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Are there beneficial viruses? | Spyke