Final answer:
Viruses have several beneficial uses, such as in gene therapy for treating genetic disorders, as bacteriophages to attack bacterial pathogens, and for controlling agricultural pests.
Step-by-step explanation:
Viruses are often perceived solely as agents of disease; however, they can actually be beneficial in various ways. Firstly, some viruses can be modified to deliver therapeutic genes to human cells, which is a technique known as gene therapy. This can have the potential to treat genetic disorders where a patient lacks a functional gene.
Viruses turned into vectors this way deliver a healthy copy of the gene to the patient's cells. Gene therapy holds great promise for diseases that currently lack effective treatments.
Additionally, viruses known as bacteriophages are used to target and destroy specific bacterial pathogens. This can be an alternative to traditional antibiotics, particularly in cases when bacteria are resistant to them.
Bacteriophages are essentially viruses that infect bacteria, and their selectivity makes them useful in both medical and food safety applications, where they can control food pathogens like Listeria.
Furthermore, certain viruses also play a role in natural pest control by infecting and limiting populations of agricultural pests. This form of biological control can reduce the need for chemical pesticides and is an eco-friendly pest management tool.