How Does Viruses Reproduce Themselves Without A Soul?

In numerous essays I wrote here in this blog of mine, we talked about life, about microorganisms like bacteria, micro fungus, micro parasites such as the malarial parasites and micro filarial parasites. We also discussed the definition of life (MRS GREN), about the chemistry and the mysteries of life, its origin and so on. We accept all these entities are living.

Added to this, I have also on numerous times written  about life and the unanswered mysteries of life in this blog. If life was just a set of chemistries or biochemistries taking place in a living body using  different metabolic, cellular, signaling or molecular pathways as most molecular scientists talk about and were even able to trace and measure them.

Not just that only. As a scientist we are able to trace highly complex metabolic pathways.   

For instance, we use a variety of techniques to elucidate and understand biomolecules and to trace metabolic pathways such as using radioactive isotope labelling to look at emitted radiation that can be detected and traced, by using mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy about the structure and abundance of metabolites. Alternatively, we may use enzyme assays, gene expression analysis, fluorescent probes and microscopy, metabolic flux analysis, chemical inhibitors among others. 

As scientists, by combining these techniques, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of metabolic pathways, their regulation, and their significance in various biological processes. These are reproducible without needing to show data 

We cannot challenge the academic and intellectual ingenuity of these scientists using their probes and their experimental studies. 

As a biological, medical and nutritional scientist myself, I would like to challenge other scientists to answer me, why is it then, when life ceases, all these biochemistry of life also ceases together with it? Why don't they continue with their biochemical reactions if they were just chemistry independent of the presence of life?  Obviously to me, there must be a higher order commanding all these life chemistries. Is it the unseen soul? Let's try to answer this. 

But first, as I am also an anaytical chemist, we can clearly induce tens of thousands of chemical reactions in a test tube in a laboratory without any life in them, yet this is not so in a living body. When life ceases all the chemical reactions of life instantly ceases along with it, and all the reactants begins to decompose. 

See my write up on:

The Diagnosis of Death I published here on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, here:

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-diagnosis-of-death.html

and also on:

The Irreversible Chemistry of Death?  Published on Monday, November 7, 2022

There was a question about viruses a reader asked me only last evening, on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. She asked me this: 

Are Viruses Microorganisms? I have answered her here: 

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2024/

But what I am more interested in asking now is, why are viruses not considered living?  Do viruses have a soul like all living things? 

Before I attempt to answer this extremely difficult question, here is a short introduction on the structure of viruses and their behavior. 

In the simpler viruses the virion consists of a single molecule of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat, the capsid; the capsid and its enclosed nucleic acid together constitute the nucleocapsid. In some of the more complex viruses the capsid surrounds a protein core.

Viruses are smaller and simpler in construction than unicellular microorganisms, and they contain only one type of nucleic acid—either DNA or RNA—never both. As viruses have no ribosomes, mitochondria, or other organelles, they are completely dependent on their cellular hosts for energy production and protein synthesis. They replicate only within cells of the host that they infect. Unlike any microorganism, many viruses can, in suitable cells, reproduce themselves from their genome, a single nucleic acid molecule, that is, their nucleic acid alone is infectious. Outside a susceptible cell, the virus particle like a bacterial spore is metabolically inert; on the other hand, when replicating in a cell, it exhibits all the characteristics of life. The new group of microorganisms are known as filterable viruses. Filtration studies have shown that virus particles (virions) range from about the size of the smallest unicellular microorganisms (300 nm) down to objects little bigger than the largest protein molecules (20 nm). In the simpler viruses, the virion consists of a single molecule of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat, the capsid; the capsid and its enclosed nucleic acid together constitute the nucleocapsid.

The unicellular microorganisms can be arranged in order of decreasing size and complexity: protozoa, fungi, bacteria, mycoplasmas, rickettsia, and chlamydia. These microorganisms, however small and simple, are cells. They always contain DNA as the repository of their genetic information, they contain RNA, and they have their own machinery for producing energy and macromolecules. Microorganisms grow by synthesizing their own macromolecular constituents (nucleic acid, protein, carbohydrate, and lipid), and they multiply by binary fission.

Viruses, on the other hand, are smaller and simpler in construction than unicellular microorganisms, and they contain only one type of nucleic acid—either DNA or RNA, never both. Furthermore, since viruses have no ribosomes, mitochondria, or other organelles, they are completely dependent on their cellular hosts for energy production and protein synthesis. They replicate only within cells of the host that they infect. Indeed, unlike any microorganism, many viruses can, in suitable cells, reproduce themselves from their genome, a single nucleic acid molecule, i.e., their nucleic acid alone is infectious. Are viruses alive? The question is rhetorical. Outside a susceptible cell, the virus particle, like a bacterial spore, is metabolically inert; on the other hand, when replicating in a cell it exhibits all the characteristics of life.

From the above summary, viruses cannot be considered living as they do not display all the characteristics of life. They cannot even multiply on their own as they depend on a host that has life in it. The host to the virus in my eyes, has not just life, but also a soul in it.

See my discussion here:

Do Animals have A Soul?

 https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2024/08/do-animals-have-soul.html

I have no doubt it is the soul that influences all the characteristics and chemistries of life, such as reproduction, an area I have written previously.

I strongly believe it is actually the soul of the living host that causes the virus to reproduce. Once the virus is outside the control of the soul of the living host, it again loses its ability to display the characteristics of life, such as reproduction. In short, the virus depends entirely on the soul of the living host.

This is just a hypothesis I forward using a reasonable amount of scientific logic as a former research medical scientist although it is almost impossible to carry out such an experiment to prove this as evidence-based studies with data, simply because the soul is an unmeasurably entity lying in a separate dimension beyond science. Normally in research we put up a hypothesis as a platform or as a springboard to investigate further with experiments so that we can gather data as an evidence-based study, if possible.  But if this is not possible, we can still infer its presence from the behaviors on other parameters, entities, or on matter, or on other living creatures. It is like materials under the influence of a force, such as a magnet attracting iron filings, but once the electromagnetic influence is switched off, the iron filings drop down and can no longer be reassembled on their own until they are placed in other magnetic field, or “soul” so to speak.  

Let me share this hypothesis with you that viruses cannot reproduce on their own because they have no soul on their own, probably due to their molecular simplicity, and hence they need the influence of a living host that has a soul to influence its molecular chemistry of life. They need the influence of a living host that has a soul in it to influence its molecular chemistry of life.  

I believe I have put up a hypothesis that is intriguing that delves into the intersection of biology, philosophy, and spirituality. The concept that viruses might lack a "soul" due to their molecular simplicity and, therefore, require a living host with a soul to reproduce, introduces a novel perspective on the nature of life different from the scientific perspective on viruses and life.

From a scientific standpoint, viruses are not considered living organisms because they do not fulfil all the criteria defined by MRS GREN (Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, and Nutrition). Specifically:

 

1. Reproduction: Viruses cannot reproduce independently. They rely entirely on the host cell's machinery to replicate.
2. Metabolism: Viruses do not have metabolic processes. They do not consume energy or produce waste outside of a host cell.
3. Cellular Structure: Viruses are not made up of cells, which are the basic units of life.

 

These factors have led to the general consensus that viruses exist in a grey area between living and non-living entities. They are often described as "biological entities" or "replicators" rather than fully-fledged living organisms.

 

 Hypothesis: The Role of the Soul:

 

My hypothesis introduces the idea that the soul of the living host might be the driving force that allows viruses to exhibit characteristics of life, such as reproduction. This concurs with some philosophical and spiritual views that life is not solely defined by physical and biochemical processes but also by a non-material essence or soul.

While this idea is not supported by empirical evidence in the scientific literature, it echoes certain spiritual and metaphysical concepts where life is seen as a manifestation of a deeper, non-material reality. For instance,

 

1. Vitalism:  Is an early scientific hypothesis that life is driven by a "vital force" distinct from physical and chemical processes. While vitalism has been largely discredited in modern science, its echoes remain in some philosophical and spiritual traditions.
2. Panpsychism: A philosophical view that consciousness or a soul-like quality might be a fundamental feature of all matter, not just living organisms.

 

 

While my hypothesis lies outside the realm of traditional scientific inquiry, it opens the door to exploring life from a more holistic and perhaps spiritually integrated perspective. It also reflects the ongoing dialogue between science, philosophy, and spirituality in understanding the nature of life.

The Universe is so unimaginably vast that anything is possible especially if we think life, including viruses, were once seeded on Earth by a passing comet from the Oort Cloud. The idea that life could have been seeded on Earth by a comet or other celestial body is part of the panspermia hypothesis, which posits that life—or the precursors of life—could have originated elsewhere in the universe and travelled to Earth via comets, asteroids, or even interstellar dust. Considering the vastness of the universe and the mysteries it holds; many possibilities extend far beyond our current understanding.

 Our thinking is only confined to what we can see and explain on this planet but not beyond, especially from another dimension from where life probably was seeded here. I don't think we can get a definite answer.

This notion challenges the Earth-centric view of life's origins and opens up fascinating possibilities about the nature and distribution of life in the cosmos. While we may not have definitive answers, such as the influence of the soul of a host to cause the virus to multiply as if it was living, exploring these ideas allows us to push the boundaries of our understanding and consider the profound mysteries that still await discovery.

While I doubt, I will find direct scientific references supporting the idea that viruses lack a soul and therefore require one from a host to reproduce, there are philosophical and theoretical discussions that might be in line with my hypothesis.

Here are at least three.  

References and Supporting Ideas:

1. Henri Bergson's Élan Vital: Bergson proposed that a vital force, distinct from physical and chemical forces, drives the evolution and complexity of life.
2. Arthur Eddington's The Nature of the Physical World: Eddington, a physicist, suggested that science might eventually have to incorporate non-material elements to fully understand life and consciousness.
3. Rupert Sheldrake's Morphic Resonance: While controversial, Sheldrake's theory suggests that biological forms and behaviors are influenced by a non-material field, which might align with my idea of a soul influencing viral behaviors.