This talk interrogates recent virology research in its quest for understanding the role viruses play in both evolution and the development of life. While viruses are commonly thought of as not alive, many virologists trace the ways viruses affected the evolution of life and influence human development. This compels dual questions: what constitutes the categories of “life” and how are viruses challenging these ever-moving — yet culturally static and foundational — categories? In conversation with feminist, queer, and anthropological studies of science, this talk queries both the biological and cultural aliveness of viruses as they move through the microbiome.