Bringing new meaning to the term computer virus, researchers have been successfully in simulating an entire life form on a computer. The simulation is described as one of a virus, the satellite tobacco mosaic virus, that is simple and often called a particle rather than an organism.

None the less, this is the first time a computer simulation of a complete life form has been accomplished. The simulation was completed by collaborators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California. The computing work was performed in conjunction with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Story and image from HPC Wire