Things don’t actually have purposes. That’s a human invention. (Adaptations can improve the chances of spreading, so we say “it does this” or “it’s for that”, but it’s not intentional on the part of the genes, proteins, etc.)
Anyway, about your first question, it seems there are three main ideas about how viruses originate.
Things don’t actually have purposes. That’s a human invention. (Adaptations can improve the chances of spreading, so we say “it does this” or “it’s for that”, but it’s not intentional on the part of the genes, proteins, etc.)
Anyway, about your first question, it seems there are three main ideas about how viruses originate.
This leads into one of the biggest misconceptions about evolution.
That was a fun read, thanks!