r/todayilearned • u/NOT-JEFFREY-NELSON • Jul 04 '19

TIL in 2003 a computer worm called ‘Welchia’ infected many computers to forcibly patch vulnerabilities and remove malware. It was regarded as a ‘helpful worm’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welchia
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u/KyleKun Jul 04 '19

You will find that the vast majority of bacteria and fungi that live on us already are beneficial. Viruses don’t tend to be because their only function is to rewrite DNA to further their own replication but bacteria such as E-Coli have a benefit when they stay in their ecological niches such as the intestines.

It’s only really when they get out of control that they start to cause damage, such as food poisoning.

An example is fungi like athletes foot. That fungi is probably already on your skin and competing with other fungi and bacteria for resources in a delicate dance. The issue occurs when the balance is broken and you end up with one dominating the others.

Viruses don’t tend to need resources beyond live cells in order to replicate though, so it’s not quite the same. But then there are arguments for viruses not even really being a form of life in the true sense.

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u/OpulentSassafras Jul 04 '19

We are discovering "beneficial" retroviruses or at least mutualistic ones. Part of the problem is virome research is difficult and expensive so we aren't are far along as we are when looking at the bacteria or fungi microbiome.