Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Physicist
"It took a lot of searching through that long-winded game of 3-card-Monty to find the slight-of-hand, but there it is. The minimum is zero."

Are you saying that some forms of life have no DNA whatsoever?

75 posted on 03/06/2002 11:44:49 AM PST by Southack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies ]


To: Southack
Are you saying that some forms of life have no DNA whatsoever?

That depends what you call life, and what you mean by DNA. Some viruses are RNA-based rather than DNA-based, but some people don't think of viruses as life-forms. Prions don't have nucleic acids at all, but even fewer people would call them life-forms. The problem here is that we tend to define life in terms of DNA, rather than vice-versa.

There aren't any cellular organisms that don't have DNA, but that's because DNA works so well. Any DNA-less single-celled critters have long since been devoured into extinction.

78 posted on 03/06/2002 11:55:56 AM PST by Physicist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies ]

To: Southack
Are you saying that some forms of life have no DNA whatsoever?

The hepatitus C virus.

85 posted on 03/06/2002 12:04:18 PM PST by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson