Geek Syndicate
for this is that Ebola isn’t very well evolved to infect us. Its natural host is out there, but still unknown. Ebola’s horrifying nature is actually a benefit for the human race. To put it bluntly, Ebola kills its victims too quickly for it to spread. Of course as the world gets to be a smaller place with increased and faster travel around the globe, we may not be safe forever. not able to cross running water. They can also be affected by strong smells (such as garlic) and the madness associated with the disease can cause people to become manic and literally howl at the moon. It’s not really in the interest of viruses to kill their hosts, or at least kill them too quickly. In general the longer a virus exists, the less lethal it becomes whereas new strains are more likely to be fatal. This is one of the reasons why five hundred conquistadors were able to take over the Americas- the measles and smallpox they brought with them wiped out huge numbers of natives, weakening their civilizations. Europe, and indeed the world, could well have been a very different place if Spain hadn’t had the political and economic power that The Americas gave it. There are a lot of viruses around. We’ve studied about 5,000 different species, mostly the ones that cause disease but there are more out there. A lot more. In fact, viruses make up the largest biomass in the oceans, more than all other sea life put together. There are millions of viruses in every single milliliter of sea water - but don’t panic! They are mostly bacteriophages: viruses that only infect bacteria. Bacteriophages are some of the strangest looking viruses, appearing almost identical to the Apollo lunar module. It’s a 20-sided capsid on top of a stalk that ends in legs. When these legs land on bacteria, the stalk acts like a hypodermic syringe and injects the virus’s genetic material into the bacteria. They kill about 25% of life in the oceans everyday and play a major part in stopping dangerous algal blooms.
Image From http://facstaff. cbu.edu/~seisen/Viruses.htm
Space Pod? Or Bacteriophage?
BEHOLD! The Horror of Ebola
Ebola is the stuff of nightmares, but it’s not the most lethal virus known. That “honour” falls to rabies. Rabies is, to all intents and purposes 100% fatal. Without treatment you will die. Luckily there is a very eff ??????????????????????????????????????????e??????????????????????????????????????????????????e?????????%?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5??????????????????I???????????????????????????????????????????????????????I?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????(??()'?e????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????%????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????9?????????????Q]9Qd?%Y?Q%5L??Q???e????????????????????????????????????? ????e?????????????9???????'?e??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????()-??? ???()%??????????????????????????????????Y???????((0