Abstract
The LaTeX world is composed of thousands of software components, most notably classes and styles. Classes and styles are born, evolve or die, interact with each other, compete or cooperate, very much as living organisms do at the cellular level. This paper attempts to draw an extended analogy between the LaTeX biotope and cellular biology. By considering LaTeX documents as living organisms and styles as viruses that infect them, we are able to exhibit a set of behavioral patterns common to both worlds. We analyze infection methods, types and cures, and we show how LaTeX or cellular organisms are able to survive in a world of perpetual war.