Questions tagged [viruses]
For questions about infectious agents that alter existing systems in order to reproduce.
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Could an alien pathogen actually have an effect on us? [closed]
A very common trope (and one I plan to implement) is the alien parasite/virus/bacteria/fungus that arrives on an asteroid/is encountered by astronaut explorers/is brought to us by aliens unwittingly ...
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What conditions would allow this trojan horse be implemented on a universal scale?
A while ago, I posited this question "How to counteract a trojan horse when the horse is the anti-virus software?"
It seems that real life has presented an answer.
Major economic impact ...
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How credible is an extremely lethal virus dying out due to genetic inheritance patterns?
As a preface, let me apologize to knowledgeable people if things I say make them wince, I have no genetics or virology background whatsoever and my science-speak is taken straight from Wikipedia.
The ...
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If we were to discover an alien ecosystem that has a D-configuration of proteins, how would it react to our L-sided biology?
I'm working on a hard-sci-fi story where a scientist discovers microorganisms in our solar system with disastrous results. I was thinking about how any cross-contamination with an alien ecosystem ...
user104821
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Virus that affects only males? [duplicate]
Furrious Rabies affects only males in this universe, in our real universe it affects both genders.
in our real universe I've never heard of any virus that only affects people with Y chromies.
So I'm ...
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Could someone be targeted by analysing their DNA and finding certain weaknesses? [closed]
A person was offering me food for few months 3-4 months. I don’t trust this person 100% due to the person having some issues with my family previously. Anyway I kept getting ill almost once to twice ...
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A virus that causes adipocyte degeneration
In my world, there is a virus that causes acquired degreasing body syndrome (also known as ADBS) (sorry, the original French name of this disease is syndrome de dégraissage corporel acquis) (the ...
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Would it be possible for a virus to change humans enough for them to become what we would call "superhumans"?
Recently, I read a book called "Swallowed Star". In the story, a virus changes human DNA enough for humans to have unbelievable superpowers and skills. Some even obtain the ability to have ...
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Could a virus be used to terraform planets?
I came up with a society of insectoid aliens called Ebline, based on ants. Their class structure and stuff are very interesting, but their coolest tool is a virus called Cuulaziu. When they find a new ...
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Is it possible for a bioaerosol/virus to be quickly detected?
Context:
In my world, there is a lyssavirus strain with a long and complicated history that was accidentally developed into an extremely contagious bioaerosol; a doomsday biological weapon. Primates ...
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Can a person be immune to all diseases and poisons
I have an OC, who was born with this one-of-a-kind condition. His immune system is abnormally strong, invincible really.
He's incapable of getting sick, or dying of bacteria, viruses, venoms, poisons, ...
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Could HIV-1 evolve to successfully infect rats?
In my world that is set in a far future, a mammalian species from the Euarchontoglires superorder descended from brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) evolved to become sapient.
One of the deadliest diseases ...
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A synthetical virus created by a racist [closed]
In my science-fiction story, there is a vile scientist that creates a synthetical virus, because he wants to kill all humans of British and Irish ancestry all over the world.
This virus ONLY affects ...
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What should an underground shelter, bunker or “regular” home look like if it’s designed to keep two people isolated for at least two years? [closed]
I’m asking this question because I was just thinking of how people would actually survive in the medium term in an apocalypse scenario with “reasonable and realistic” limits. The key world being ...
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Virus extinction at the snap of a finger. Can life on Earth continue to exist normally? [closed]
An entity comes to me in my dream and says I now possess the power to exterminate any biological entity of my choice on Earth at the snap of a finger. Without giving too much thought, I decide to ...
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How would a virus that only kills one sex work?
There is a popular movie trope of the near-total elimination of a sex (often male) because of a virus/a plague. This got me wondering :
How would such a virus work?
I'm not sure if it would be ...
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How to counteract a trojan horse when the horse is the anti-virus software?
I have got caught behind the 'irresistible force meets immoveable rock' conundrum.
A predatory country has been making very long-term plans for building an empire.
This country, as part of a very long-...
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What would a heterozygote advantage against the mutant coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 look like?
Some heterozygote advantages in humans are:
People with sickle-cell trait are resistant to malaria, but people with sickle-cell disease tend to die young.
Depending of the source we believe, people ...
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Virologically Correct Wart-Causing Toad
It was once believed that warts could be caught from a toad. At first glance, this seems like something that could plausibly be true
Unfortunately, warts are caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus. ...
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What countermeasures can robots develop against nanites?
In sci fi TV tropes nanites or nanoscopic are autonomous molecules that can shut down robots by injecting them into their positronic brains, where they house all the important functions that dictates ...
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What would a heterozygote advantage against rabies look like?
Some heterozygote advantages in humans are:
People with sickle-cell trait are resistant to malaria, but people with sickle-cell disease tend to die young.
Depending of the source we believe, people ...
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What would be the easiest way for a personality-altering bioweapon to be transmitted?
So this bioweapon is a genetically-engineered microscopic parasite used by a certain government in a sort of revolution-turned-war. It works by making its host more paranoid, stressed and non-trusting ...
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Heterozygote advantage against influenza/flu
Some heterozygote advantages in humans are:
People with sickle-cell trait are resistant to malaria, but people with sickle-cell disease tend to die young.
Depending of the source we believe, people ...
- 5,370
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Covid-19 disappears, how long would it take to notice?
Covid-19; We all know what that is, a contagious pandemic that has caused an immense amount of loss and devastation and has effected tons of people all over the world
You are chilling in your cozy ...
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Virus to rewrite the human brain
There are things that people do which makes them feel an extreme sense of guilt, often ending in suicide or the least self mutilation as a mechanism to ''punish oneself'', there are also people who ...
user86331
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Infectious diabetes [closed]
I want to know if the disease I invented is realistic or a total fiction.
I imagined a hypothetical viral disease that causes a contagious form of diabetes. It is only transmitted by blood. The virus ...
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How many species does a virus need to infect to destroy life on Earth? [closed]
Okay, let's say that there's a virus that can infect multiple species, is very hard to cure, extremely contagious, can linger asymptomatically for long periods of time, and likely to be deadly. It ...
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Can a virus that causes forced evolution exist?
I recently watched a movie called The Cave. In the movie there's a group of spelunkers that get trapped in the cave with a bunch of blind monsters. towards the end of the movie, we find out that the ...
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Can we get rid of all illnesses by a year of Total Extreme Quarantine?
Earth-Year: 2618.
Location: Planet Hope, Proxima Centauri.
Terraformation status: 97.8% Earth-like.
Population: 128.596.
The residents of this planet live in a paradise-like environment. The gravity ...
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Could a terrorist organization destroy most of Earth's population? [closed]
A small, but wealthy, terrorist organization, (or "freedom fighters", or "savoiurs of the world", if you use their own language) sees the world as full of "sinners", and ...
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A Plague that Causes Death in All Post-Plague Children
The backstory of the world in the story I am writing tells of a deadly plague that significantly depopulated all of humanity. Years later, as the survivors began to recover post-plague they noticed ...
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The everybody-hates-everybody virus. Can humanity survive?
Aliens that are weaklings and have no physical weapons as we know them, want to conquer Earth because their home planet is dying. They sow an everybody-hates-everybody virus throughout Earth's ...
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Is a vampire virus possible? [duplicate]
I want to make a vampire virus spread by sex and kissing. But, I’m not wanting to add anything unrealistic. I want the virus to originate from one rogue vampire from hell. Is this possible?
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Keeping the horde of nanomachines at bay?
So, there are three major powers in the setting that can be reasoned with, and a fourth that is just there to destroy. I have a problem with balancing them.
The so-called nature spirits are creatures ...
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Radio controlled sheep
A worldwide pandemic has killed the world's dogs and their cousins the wolves.
In sheep farming countries, dogs have been and still are an invaluable aid to sheep farmers. Some breeds will herd the ...
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A universe with no coronaviruses [closed]
Starting a new TTRPG campaign, I mentioned the players that it takes place in our contemporary universe, but with no COVID-19 epidemics. In fact, I went so far as to say that that version of our ...
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Could a "multicellular" virus exist?
When I say multicellular I mean it's made of more that one viruses. Basically it's a bunch of viruses that act like viruses but use the viruses made by infected cells to build a "multicellular" ...
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What pandemic could keep the world in isolation near indefinitely?
What kind of pandemic could keep nations on severe lock down for at least long enough to necessitate irreversible changes to culture and the economy (preferably a decade or longer)? Such as fast-...
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How would humans react in a post- apocalipic world if they all became sick from a new virus? [closed]
I am working on writing a story where humans try to survive in a deserted wasteland where a highly contageous and mortal disease is spreading like wildfire. How would humans act or react to the ...
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Can 2019-nCoV be altered to be carried by the wind?
After surveying customers about their new product, 2019-nCoV™, E.V.I.L. Inc. realized that many of them would pay for an upgrade which allows for the virus to be carried by the wind itself in order to ...
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Epidemic friendly time traveller
My time traveller from the distant future is about to get stranded back in time, but realises that by travelling back a short time, maybe 100000 years, he is going to leave a trail of destruction by ...
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Feasibility of a virus that causes its host to crave sex?
In the near future a man-made virus was released which caused a world wide epidemic in humans and animals , the virus completly shutsdown all cognitive functions in the brain leaving the host in a ...
user72048
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How do I preserve my Wendigo Prion?
Wendigo fever is a Prion (credit goes to SE is too politically correct for the idea) which is spread by the consumption of tainted meat. the main problem I have is to my knowledge Prions are solely ...
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Why would a government release a virus that preferentially kills old people; would a country struggling with an aging population secretly do this? [closed]
Inspired by current events, and the ongoing problem of too many old people and not enough young people creating a burden on pension/healthcare systems in Asia and around the world.
For starters, I ...
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Creating a plausible Wendigo fever
It is believed that Wendigos are supernatural beings with an insatiable hunger for human flesh, or humans who are selfish and commit cannibalism and while the latter is more accurate, Wendigo fever is ...
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Feasibility of the neuro strain
The neuro strain is a virus that affects the nervous system in drastic ways.
Firstly, when the host is infected, their body will grow bigger than it would have originally been but not much bigger - ...
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Feasibility of the hypo-strain
In the isle, a game about dinosaurs and a extensive lore, there are strains (viruses)that cause or inflict different effects on the affected dinosaur.
The hypo strain is capable of making the body of ...
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How could a mutation of an engineered virus initially be undetectable?
Doctors have found a way to identify the initial strain of this lethal, engineered virus. Most mutations have been easily identifiable by an AI-supported system.
Is it plausible that a mutated ...
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Interplanetary Spore Plague(Rapture Virus)
On planet Earth, the capital of the Earth Sphere in my universe, in the year 2127, the population has increased(in density per area) by about 410%, due to the discovery of "key" bridges- traversable ...
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ideal virus for eco-terrorist [closed]
This is a follow up question to my earlier question what makes a disease deadly?
In my book, the villain, a biology professor inspired by Ted Kaczynski, wants to revert humanity into a hunter ...
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