Life couples reproduction of the cell machinery with replication of the genetic program. Both processes are linked to the expression of some information. Over time, reproduction can enhance the information of the machine. We show that accumulation of valuable information results from degradative processes required to make room for novel entities. Degradation systems act as Maxwell's demons, using energy not to make room per se, but to prevent degradation of what has some functional features. This myopic process will accumulate information, whatever its source, in a ratchet-like manner. The consequence is that genes acquired by horizontal transfer as well as viruses will tend to perpetuate in niches where they are functional, creating recurrent conditions for emergence of diseases.