The forgotten extraterrestrials

• Autores: Kenneth Stedman
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2948-2949, 2013, págs. 42-43
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In a thimbleful of Earth seawater there will be perhaps in million viruses, up to a million microbes and certainly no humans. Viruses are crucial for life on Earth. Only in the last few decades have people realized that viruses outnumber all cellular life forms on this planet by at least a factor of 10, probably much more. They have been found in all environments where life has been found, from acidic hot springs to Antarctic glaciers and saturated alkaline brines. All cellular life probably has viruses that coexist with it. Here, Stedman examines why viruses--one vital life form--is overlooked in the hunt for aliens.