For years now, scientists have been trying to discover forms of life in space. Traces of water and seemingly unnaturally created structures lead many people to believe there may be another life form sharing the galaxy with us. However, recently Congress gave NASA a new task: search for viruses in space. Indeed, they are supposed to look for "life's origins, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe." And to many people, viruses are a great way to begin to tackle this expedition.
Viruses (as we know them) need a host to be able to replicate and transmit, to survive essentially. So, if NASA can detect some form of viruses on, for example, Mars, then there can be a strong argument made that there is some other form of life that is keeping these viruses alive. Or, maybe the viruses on Mars are self-sustaining in which case they could be argued to be a form of life. While these are all very exciting theories and goals, there is obviously a lot of work that needs to be done before we even have the technology to begin to test this hypothesis. However, the prospect of having a clear goal moving forward has many scientists reinvigorated to continue the search!
Source: https://slate.com/technology/2018/01/nasas-been-ordered-to-search-for-life-in-space-they-should-start-with-viruses.html
-Alexandra
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