August 08, 2008
Are Viruses Alive? [Features]
Scientific American - Posted: August 8th, 2008, 12:15pm EDT
Editor's Note: This story was originally published in the December 2004 issue of Scientific American.
In an episode of the classic 1950s television comedy The Honeymooners, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden loudly explains to his wife, Alice, “You know that I know how easy you get the virus.” Half a century ago even regular folks like the Kramdens had some knowledge of viruses--as microscopic bringers of disease. Yet it is almost certain that they did not know exactly what a virus was. They were, and are, not alone.
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