Can a Virus move at Light Speed?

Naturally, or engineered to do such? What is the maximum speed, average speed, and minimum speed of all types of viruses? How does speed of viruses influence their harmful effects on humans, animals, and plants? Are there any natural or engineered beneficial viruses?

I still live in the world where anything is possible.

No, physical viruses can't move at lightspeed, though digital
ones do.

Nothing with mass can move at lightspeed, however photons,
which are the particles that light is comprised of have no mass,
so they move at the speed of light.

I'm not sure how fast viruses travel or what there avareage
speed is.
I'm willing to estimate that it's something like 1 milimeter a
second though.

iori_komei, that is the knowledge I had except for your estimate of viral speed; where or how did you get that estimate?

Thank you for your comments.

Well, I did'nt get it from anywhere, I just remember reading that
viruses and other things on the microscopic scale move very slow
compared to things on the macroscopic scale

It would be impossible for viruses to move at the speed of light, if you're talking about biotic viruses. There would not be an animal or human alive that would have the circulatory system where the virus can move at this speed, considering it must travel back through the heart.

Viruses don't move under their own power. They drift in fluids.

A strong sneeze or cough can get certain types of viruses moving at a pretty good clip. Probably a little slower than the speed of light, however.

Kevin

I like muskies.

DJMessiah, are viruses always present in the blood? If so, what role would they play for helping or hurting human or animal life expectancy? What percent of the volume of the Universe and its regions (especially the earth and its atmosphere) is composed of viruses?

Nygdan, do viruses die or reform biologically or reform into non-life chemicals?

Originally posted by GreatTech
What percent of the volume of the Universe and its regions (especially the earth and its atmosphere) is composed of viruses?

The biomass and biovolume of viruses, on earth, will change with time. I don't know of any estimate of the sum total of earth's viral biomass.

But here is something:

www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov...
10^9 to 10^10 viruses liter−1

So its around a billion viruses in each liter of sea water.

do viruses die or reform biologically or reform into non-life chemicals?

A virus isnt' technically alive. Its a mess of chemicals that causes living cells to create many copies of the virus.

Originally posted by GreatTech
DJMessiah, are viruses always present in the blood?

Not "always" present. Viruses can also be present in areas of the body where blood flow does not occur in.

If so, what role would they play for helping or hurting human or animal life expectancy?

Viruses will play a great part in disrupting the immune system of the body. Some viruses can be used for good though, as someone posted earlier, as a "cure" for cancer.

Originally posted by Nygdan
A virus isnt' technically alive. Its a mess of chemicals that causes living cells to create many copies of the virus.

Nygdan, as always, thank you for your comments. It has been my learning for a long time that a biological virus is alive, that it is a microorganism. Has there been a recent change in its definition, or have I always been wrong?

Just to note, viruses, apart from being used to cure some diseases,
may in the future be used for large scale biological cosmetic refor-
ming, particularly in genetic engineering treatments.

Originally posted by DJMessiah
Some viruses can be used for good though, as someone posted earlier, as a "cure" for cancer.

Excellent information. Can you tell me where this post is at?

Originally posted by iori_komei
Just to note, viruses, apart from being used to cure some diseases,
may in the future be used for large scale biological cosmetic refor-
ming, particularly in genetic engineering treatments.

Thanks from me and all those interested. Any websites you know of?

Sorry, I don't know of any.

There really probably are'nt a whole lot though, since the
technology for it is a deecade or more off.

Originally posted by GreatTech

Originally posted by Nygdan
A virus isnt' technically alive. Its a mess of chemicals that causes living cells to create many copies of the virus.

Nygdan, as always, thank you for your comments. It has been my learning for a long time that a biological virus is alive, that it is a microorganism. Has there been a recent change in its definition, or have I always been wrong?

It is commonly accepted that viruses are not living, nor are the microorganisms, as they do not produce waste, require energy, or reproduce of their own accord.

I guess viruses can be considered molecules or microorganisms. Check out the following:

whyfiles.larc.nasa.gov/text/kids/Problem_Board/problems/biosphere/glossary.html

Taken from here is the definition of virus:

"any of a large group of very tiny infectious agents that are too small to be seen with the ordinary light microscope but can often be seen with the electron microscope, that are considered either very simple microorganisms or very complicated molecules, that have an outside coat of protein around a core of RNA or DNA, that can grow and multiply only in living cells, and that cause important diseases in human beings, lower animals, and plants."

Can a virus cause the increase and/or decrease in sight, hearing, sound, touch, taste, and/or smell of its Host. Can a virus see, hear, make sound, touch, taste, or smell on its own and/or with the aid of a Host?

Originally posted by GreatTech
Can a virus cause the increase and/or decrease in sight, hearing, sound, touch, taste, and/or smell of its Host.

Yes, atleast I know they can cause you to lose some of those,
I think that given the right virus, you could lose any of those
though.

Can a virus see, hear, make sound, touch, taste, or smell on its own and/or with the aid of a Host?

No, viruses don't have brains, and thusly can't process information
like that, and they don't have eyes, a nose a tongue vocal cords
or tactile sensors.

Can a person who is blind or lacking part of his/her vision gain in vision with viral therapy?

Can viruses have a similar sensory set within a "different consciousness realm?"