“Nothing replicates with nucleic acid and evolves through natural selection and is not alive, so I think it’s time for viruses to join the pantheon of life,” says Dr. White, bringing a fresh perspective to the topic of whether viruses should be considered living or nonliving. Press play to learn why he says viruses are “perfect” parasites, and to explore the following: How viruses get sick Who's winning the battle against multidrug-resistant organisms, and the critical role viruses play What allows a virus to transfer genetic information without replicating itself In what way phages have exhibited protective mechanisms for the host and interact with the host immune response Dr. Richard Allen White III is a virologist and the owner of Raw Molecular Systems (RMS), LLC. His current work is focused on diagnostics and biotherapeutics to combat COVID-19, as well as repurposing bacteriophage to tackle multidrug resistance. He provides unique insight on a handful of compelling questions about viruses, which leads to a discussion of how viruses take over the host’s macrophages and trigger cell-to-cell infection, a phage Vibrio that’s triggered by a quorum-sensing molecule, viral modification and what it means, virus and host cell interactions, viral evolution and how a virus changes over time, viral tropism, current treatments for the rabies virus, how viruses hold the key to wiping out the growing threat of multidrug-resistant organisms, and more. Tune in, and learn about Dr. White’s company by visiting https://www.rawmolecularsystems.com/. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK