Comment by enkid

If viruses usually aren't considered alive, why would obelisk? I'm also curious how we know these are independent structures versus a by product of our own or our resident bacteria's cellular function. The mRNA seems unrelated to our own, but perhaps there's an unknown process that either generates new extracellular mRNA to create these protiens referenced in the article. Alternatively, could these be mRNA strands that escaped the cellular destruction process?