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Ask HN: Do virus mutations break the laws of thermodynamics?

1 points by boldpandabear ↗ HN
How does a non-living thing like a virus mutate?

I have heard virologists liken viruses to seeds but seeds have cells, metabolisms, water and other energy stores and active running processes — seeds are alive.

5 comments

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rzzzwilson
Even if we assume a virus is a non-living thing, they reproduce by taking over a living thing, a cell. Mutations occur when a copy of the virus produced by the cell isn't an exact copy. The copying requires energy provided by the cell, but the errors in the copying require no energy, per se, so the law of thermodynamics is not broken.
[dead] boldpandabear
How do they “take over a living thing” if they are non living things that have no energy stores and no metabolic processes?
thayne
> How does a non-living thing like a virus mutate?

The same way living things mutate.

> Do virus mutations break the laws of thermodynamics?

No, it doesn't violate the second law of thermodynamics, as far as we know, nothing does, that's why it is called a law :). Even if entropy decreases locally (like in a single organism) the process generates more external entropy that causes the total entropy of the universe to increase.

> but seeds have cells, metabolisms, water and other energy stores and active running processe

viruses just use the host cell's "metabolism, water and energy stores".

[dead] boldpandabear
How does a non living thing “do” anything without an internal energy source? How does it “use” a host?