Can viruses be helpful?

For my bio homework, the question is:

What are some useful attributes of viruses?

I have no clue what the answer is. You may say vaccines, but I don't really think that is helpful because if we didn't have viruses we wouldn't need vaccines. You know what I mean? The viruses used in vaccines are only helping themselves, the original problem. I would like to know if viruses help us in any other way than to prevent or study another virus. I'm really stuck on this one, and any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Can viruses be helpful?microsoft office

Regardless of the pathogenicity of certain viruses, benign viruses CAN be used to carry vaccines into the blood stream and cells, thereby being useful. Other viruses, such as those which live in (or off of) certain plants cause that plant to produce certain useful (at least to humans) chemicals such as anti-bacterial compounds. Viruses will also most likely be the first carrier vector of DNA therapy for a variety of human and animal illnesses, since they easily enter cell membranes and can insert their DNA or RNA into the host cell's own genetic material.

Can viruses be helpful?norton antivirus

In a recent development, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles have tweaked HIV to create a gene therapy that attacks cancer tumors in mice.
viruses are being developed to specifiaclly target and eradicate certain pests