Consider the following statements : I. No virus can survive in ocean waters. II. No virus can infect bacteria. III. No virus can change the cellular transcriptional activity in host cells. How many of the statements given above are correct?

States that polluted water contains pathogens like viruses, implying viruses can be present in aquatic environments.

A student could combine this with knowledge of sewage discharge and coastal sampling to investigate whether marine waters near pollution sources contain viable viruses.

Lists key environmental variables in oceans (temperature, salinity, light) that influence which organisms persist, implying these factors would also affect virus stability.

Use standard facts about how temperature, salinity and light affect biomolecule stability to predict where viruses might persist (e.g., colder, less UV-exposed zones).

Notes higher solar UV-B exposure in tropics affects organisms, suggesting sunlight/UV is an environmental factor that could inactivate viruses at the surface.

A student could infer that viruses may be less stable in surface tropical waters with strong UV, and more stable in deeper or turbid waters with less UV penetration.

Describes ocean currents and thermohaline circulation delivering water masses and oxygen, showing physical transport and mixing that would disperse or dilute microbes and viruses.

Combine with a map of currents to predict dispersion pathways from point sources (e.g., river mouths or sewage outfalls) to assess where viruses might travel and persist.

Explains that UV-induced degradation is much slower for plastics in the sea, indicating that the marine surface environment can reduce degradation processes compared with land.

This suggests that surfaces or particles in the ocean (e.g., plastics, organic particles) might protect attached viruses from inactivation; a student could look for virus association with marine debris.