The Bacteriophage Debate Behind Virology

The entire model for what we call a virus is actually based on a massive misunderstanding

of bacteria that happened over a hundred years ago. Most people think science is this

steady march of progress where we discover facts and build on them, but when you look

at the history of virology, it is more like a series of arguments, compromises,

and redefinitions that got cemented into dogma. Let’s go back to the late 1800s.

The word virus literally just meant poison. At that time, researchers were studying diseases

in tobacco plants and cattle, and they couldn't find the bacteria causing them.

They had these fluids that could cause disease, but when they filtered them through bacteria-proof