Stuff that lie between alive and unalive, and stimulate our curiosity

Abstract

Thirteen billion years have passed since the Big Bang. Additionally, it has been 3 billion years since the appearance of most primitive organism on earth. Organism is defined as those with the potential to undergo replication and metabolism. Considering these criteria, it has been a topic of discussion whether viruses are alive or unalive, despite having close interaction with specific organisms. They have generally been considered the antagonist. However, the acquisition of placenta would not have been accomplished without the interaction with viruses. Along with the history of viral research, we deeply reconsider the topics covered by JIAIO, such as alive and unalive viruses, self and non-self, and pathogenesis and symbiosis.