Originally Posted by Poloboy

People keep saying that this article claims viruses are the origin of life. That's not what it's saying at all. In fact, this article has absolutely nothing to do with the origin of life on earth. It's saying viruses were the bridge between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. This is in no way an origin of life.

In basmoq's opinion viruses are alive. In my opinion they're not. This is an old debate with many people on either side, and many valid arguments for both sides. But don't make the mistake thinking that bacteria/archaea aren't living things. They are the most successful living things on the planet. The mimivirus infection, according to the article, is just a proposed mechanism for the evolution of eukaryotes from prokaryotes.

By the way, where did the article come from tecoyah?