Nanoscale footage! Viruses use 'hive intelligence' to focus their attack

It is amaing that viruses also use their intelligence and can use it to make sure that they can move over to uninfected cells and not go to infected cells.

Intelligence is not only there in humans but even the tiny viruses have it. And Darwin's evolution is present in viruses too. It may be that from this herd intelligence that we all learnt how to function as a team and maybe these viruses are the ones from which all our traits came.

This reveals to us how our genes select between what is right for us and what is not. By studying these viruses, we can understand how at a cellular level, our behaviour uses the best efficient cell utilization process. And most of our herd instincts may be from this.

A tactic familiar from insect behaviour seems to give viruses the edge in the eternal battle between them and their host – and the remarkable proof can be seen in a video.

The video catches viruses only a few hundred nanometres in size in the act of hopping over cells that are already infected. This allows them to concentrate their energies on previously uninfected cells, accelerating the spread of infection fivefold.

Smith reckons that two viral proteins which are presented on the surface of the infected cell effectively tell the virus not to bother reinfecting that cell. When he looked at virus strains lacking each of these proteins, the virus spread at the slower rate that would expected without the "bouncing infection" mechanism. "It's as if the proteins are telling the virus: 'Hey guys, there's no point in coming in here'," says Smith. "If you think about it, it makes sense – it's very Darwinian."

Video

Source: www.newscientist.com...




[edit on 22-1-2010 by sunny_2008ny]

Now, the trick is to back engineer this process so we can have nanobots do good things for the body.

and of course build other nanobots with raw materials in the area...but the key has always been control of the little guys to begin with...dont want the gray goo senario

Not taking anything away from the OP, but it is funny how this thread comes out the day after a Fringe episode where viruses were using intelligence to spread more effectively?

As far as I know, viruses are still not classified as "alive." Therefore, they cannot possibly have any intelligence or cognitive skills? I am not saying I necessarily believe that, because they are such evil little creatures hell bent on survival, so there must be some intelligence, but for a scientist to make this leap, they would first have to classify them as living things!

Interesting. I suspect some of the intelligence may be similar to the mechanism used in a recent experiment that makes an oil droplet navigate a maze. But in this case affects viruses and how they home in on cells that don't have certain protiens.

I'm not a biologist, but this also may explain why there is supposedly a good bit of viral source DNA found in the human genome. If you inherit a trait that makes your cells exhibit a protein that makes them appear already infected by certain viruses, it effectively makes you immune to those viruses that use this mechanism to target healthy cells.

It's not really intelligence. The viruses have a bit of code that allows them to 'jump' already infected cells so the end-result means that the viruses spread more effectively.

It does not seem to be a sign of "intelligence". There are numerous examples of similar behavior, even, to some degree, in the inorganic world.

It seems to be more like a pull to a specific chemical, or some other form of signal.

There are other processes like this going on all the time in our bodies, as invaders and threats are sensed and dealt with.