fourleafedrover8 OP t1_iurskba wrote
Reply to comment by the_original_Retro in Do we sneeze during a cold because the virus wants to multiply in more bodies or do we sneeze because the body is trying to reject the virus? by fourleafedrover8
I guess my question should have been "do viruses cause us to sneeze in order to spread, or do viruses cause us to sneeze because they are irritants?"
In other words, is the body trying to rid itself of the virus? Or is the virus itself causing the sneeze because it has previously benefited from this?
Or, is it both?
*smacks head on wall*
marlenesdottir t1_iusctsu wrote
The virus doesn't want anything! It just replicates so often that by chance it got the mutation that will trigger a sneeze (in this case) and this mutation is coincidentally the best one to spread the virus itself (because mutation = just an error of the copy of virus DNA/RNA) so it's the mutation that survives and travel hosts and will be the one you will get.
ThrowAwayIguess2424 t1_iv06bux wrote
You are being intentionally dense to OPs question. As they noted in the comment you responded to, they recognize there isn’t some active desire in the virus
Their question is whether the virus gains reproductive fitness via phenotypically causing sneezing in its host, or if the act of sneezing is an attempted response by the host to expel virus
They did not know how to phrase it that way, but what they meant is quite clear
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