title: Virology. Evolution on life's fringes.
abstract: Earlier this summer, two dozen scientists gathered here to take another crack at the question of viral origins and evolution. Fresh evidence that viruses have existed for billions of years suggests that they were on hand when the first cells arose. That has scientists wondering what role these stripped-down microbes played in the evolution of life.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D000069497:Origin of Life; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D018406:Virus Physiological Phenomena; D014780:Viruses / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins