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In the microscopic life that thrives around coral reefs, researchers have discovered an interplay between viruses and microbes that defies conventional wisdom. As the density of microbes rises in an ecosystem, the number of viruses infecting those microbes rises with it. It has generally been assumed that this growing population of viruses, in turn, kills more and more microbes, keeping the microbial population in check. However, a recent study of virus-host dynamics suggests that, under certain conditions, viruses can change their infection strategy. [Source: San Diego State University]
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