a source familiar with the matter on Nostr: This is one I've come around on over the past couple years TLDR: Virology is ...
This is one I've come around on over the past couple years
TLDR: Virology is pseuedoscientific and the viruses it finds are the products of the methods used
When Germ Theory failed (eg Koch himself failed to develop cholera after drinking a bunch of cholera bacteria) they decided the germ agent must be too small to see even with a microscope
The microscope images are from cells that are killed with antibiotics and antifungals, breaking down into a goop of sub-cellular items which are declared to be viruses (without proof)
The gene sequences are from basically the same thing - they take a whole bunch of DNA, cut it into tiny bits, and then the computer assembles the tiny bits into the virus
Experiments to spread contagious illness have failed, eg healthy volunteers spent time in a Spanish Flu (1918) ward and had sick mucus sprayed into their nose. None took ill.
An example of the pseudo-scientific process: Pasteur was not able to induce rabies (a supposed neurological virus) with the saliva of rabid dogs, and could produce similar symptoms only by injecting matter from the rabid dog directly into the brain of healthy dogs.
Maybe there are macro-parasites and thus contagion (eg ticks) but I am not aware of any germs which have been shown to cause illness.
TLDR: Virology is pseuedoscientific and the viruses it finds are the products of the methods used
When Germ Theory failed (eg Koch himself failed to develop cholera after drinking a bunch of cholera bacteria) they decided the germ agent must be too small to see even with a microscope
The microscope images are from cells that are killed with antibiotics and antifungals, breaking down into a goop of sub-cellular items which are declared to be viruses (without proof)
The gene sequences are from basically the same thing - they take a whole bunch of DNA, cut it into tiny bits, and then the computer assembles the tiny bits into the virus
Experiments to spread contagious illness have failed, eg healthy volunteers spent time in a Spanish Flu (1918) ward and had sick mucus sprayed into their nose. None took ill.
An example of the pseudo-scientific process: Pasteur was not able to induce rabies (a supposed neurological virus) with the saliva of rabid dogs, and could produce similar symptoms only by injecting matter from the rabid dog directly into the brain of healthy dogs.
Maybe there are macro-parasites and thus contagion (eg ticks) but I am not aware of any germs which have been shown to cause illness.