[MD] Oneness, Dualism & Intellect

[Platt Holden]

Quoting ian glendinning <psybertron at gmail.com>:

> You said.
> >
> > Fascinating? Not to me.
>
> Ian asks, how do you explain how and why they do mutate ?

Not being a biologist I can't explain. Maybe you can enlighten me. Has
something to do with genetic errors I think.

> The you asked.
> > Do they mutate into something other than viruses?
> >
> > Yes or no.
>
> Yes, (but).

They do?

> [IGNORE as an aside for now]
> You and I may never have seen one do it. No-one may have seen one do
> it in a human lifetime for all I know.
>
> Mostly their mutations are probably insignificant in any observable
> sense, some of the mutations will result in different viruses with
> different reactions with their biosphere (eg us humans and our
> health), but no reason why some should not mutate into forms which
> contain more life type characteristics. There are plenty of
> explanatory models of the evolution of life that postulate this, and
> cite "fossil record" evidence (in the broadest sense), and plenty that
> cite existing everyday processes in zygote and prion development that
> are entirely analogous by observation, ditto with certain funghi and
> their spores, ditto the symbiotic relationships between higher
> life-form hosts and their viral / bacterial "guests". But we don't
> need to go anywhere that complex yet - a step too far for now.
> [END IGNORE]

OK
 
> Keeping it simple for now. A question
> Do you see any significant difference between say
> The common cold virus and the ebola virus ?
> (After all the are both "just" viruses)
>
> Yes or no.

Yes. But don't see what that has to do with evolution of viruses. There is
a significance difference between a common garden snake and a rattlesnake. 
So?