Undeniable Fact: The itsiest-bitsiest spider

Sunday, November 19, 2006

The smallest known spider is the virus. Its web is what makes us sick.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Viruses aren't alive. Spiders are. Viruses can't possibly be spiders

10:27 PM  
Blogger grillermo said...

they are, they have lots of legs, and are ugly and nasty, and are black too .
Get your undeniable facts straight heretic!

11:16 PM  
Blogger Edward Hansen said...

World’s smallest spider = an orbweb from Samoa (body 0.43 mm long, about the size of a pinhead).
A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. Viruses can only replicate themselves by infecting a host cell and therefore cannot reproduce on their own. At the most basic level, viruses consist of genetic material contained within a protective protein coat called a capsid; the existence of both genetic material and protein distinguishes them from other virus-like particles such as prions and viroids. They infect a wide variety of organisms: both eukaryotes (animals, fungi and plants) and prokaryotes (bacteria). A virus that infects bacteria is known as a bacteriophage, often shortened to phage. The study of viruses is known as virology, and those who study viruses are known as virologists.

7:15 AM  

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