Interesting results, but of course computer simulations have many limitations.
To better understand the possible ecological effects, an international team of researchers digitally modeled the interactions between an ancient virus and modern bacteria in a study published July 27 in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.
Through tens of thousands of iterations, the study team tracked how the virus affected species diversity of a bacterial community. About 1% of the ancient viruses caused major disruptions to the digital ecosystems. The pathogen either increased diversity by up to 12% or, conversely, decreased species diversity by 32%. The viral invaders not only survived but evolved over time, throwing the system off-balance.
Interesting results, but of course computer simulations have many limitations.
Interesting results, but of course computer simulations have many limitations.