The escapist hypothesis explains the origin of viruses by proposing that they began as what?

1. The escapist hypothesis is also called the progressive hypothesis. 2. It proposes that RNA and DNA molecules escaped from a host cell and became viruses. 3. This is the hypothesis that accounts for viruses carrying either an RNA or a DNA genome. 4. Descent from free-living cells belongs to the regressive hypothesis instead, which is the trap option here. _Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "Viruses", section 21.1 Viral Evolution, Morphology, and Classification_