Viruses change every form of life. All life forms can be divided into two states, one that stores and second that acts upon information, to duplicate an organism (Levine 1992). They populate the world between the living and non-living, the ability to duplicate themselves and ones that cannot. Viruses are inherent in organization and their properties are many of secrets of life processes and life (Levine 1992). Viruses may be present in living organisms almost since the origin of life (Levy, Owens 1988). Evidence has showed that viruses can be found in many species, which means every species on this planet carries viruses (Levy,Owens 1988).
Most researchers had indicated that viruses have played an important role in understanding how cells functions over the years. Scientists identified the major factors contributing to viruses, such as DNA repair, translation of mRNA, transcription and elucidation of chemical nature of genes. (Levy, Owens 1988).
Viruses are regarded as phenotypic modification by the host cells. Through ageing, viruses incorporate host genes in their genomes and vice versa (Morse 1993).
Are viruses impossible feature of our life on earth or just a complex chemistry in life? Scientists have yet to state whether viruses are non- living systems or living systems in life. We argue in this discussion whether virus can be living or non living entities. What is a virus? Its roots come from the word Latin, known as “Poison”.
Viruses were first discovered in nineteenth century. Scientists discovered that certain disease such as foot-and mouth disease, rabies were caused by particles that resembles bacteria, however they have the ability to pass through fine filters that bacteria are not capable of. Viruses were...
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...s to produce virus specified products.
Works Cited
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8. Villarreal,P. Luis. Are Viruses Alive [December 2004]. (Online) Available from: Scientific American [Assessed 18/11/2010].
In the next essay, "Thoughts for a Countdown," Thomas discusses further how all cellular life on this planet is interconnected and similar. He discusses the custom that was prevalent throughout the Apollo program that astronauts returning from space would be ushered into isolation wearing surgical masks. The implication is, of course, that the astronauts may have brought a strange virus.
The word virus comes from the Latin word, poison. A virus infects a cell and into it, inserts its DNA. The virus then multiplies inside the cell and when enough of the virus has been produced, the newly formed viruses will break out into the body of the host, destroying the cell in the process. Variola major and Variol...
One of the other notable important advances was the “Conquest of Polio” this disease usually caused paralysis in the people who contracted the virus. Back then there...
Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) is a small (20 nm) autonomous , non –enveloped, icosahedral, single-stranded DNA virus that is approximately 5,120 nucleotides in legnth. The genome encodes for two genes which each form two proteins by alternative mRNA splicing. The non-enveloped capsid is assembled from 60 copies of a combination of the overlapping capsid proteins VP1 and VP2. The virus contains three capsid proteins. The capsids normally enter cells by clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Replication of the virus in the host occurs in cells that are rapidly dividing. FPV can survive in pH ranging from 3 to 9. The virus is highly resistant to most disinfectants (ether, chloroform, acid, alcohol, and heat), but is susceptible to Clorox bleach.
This presents a potent example. With a pathogen like a cold, generation time is short, mutation rates are high, and genetic information can spread rapidly through a population. Therefore, evolution (a shift in gene frequencies within a population through time) can occur in weeks (as opposed to the slower pace most commonly associated with evolution). Evolution occurs via natural selection. Pathogens meet the requirements of natural selection by having variability of heritable traits which impact their reproductive success in comparison to others in the population. Consider the heritable and highly variable trait of virulence. Evolution predicts that those pathogens with high virulence must also have successful transmission when their host is
Rifkind, David, and Geraldine L. Freeman. The Nobel Prize Winning Discoveries in Infectious Diseases. London: Elsevier/Academic, 2005.
Viruses are the simplest and tiniest of microbes, and are made up of proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids. The nucleic acids contain the genetic code that helps them grow and reproduce, but only once they find their way into a living organism. Viruses themselves are not considered living organisms because they don’t have cells, they don’t metabolize nutrients, produce and excrete wastes, and they can’t move around on their own. The remains of the nucleic acid then forms a covering, called the capsid. Once the capsid gets removed, viruses use the building materials of th...
By searching for the causative agent of infectious disease the focus can then be shifted into discovering preventative and treatment of the disease. Examples of this process are the outbreak of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). As published by McEwen & Wills (2011), BSE was identified as a protein transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated meat. Prevention and interventions were created as a result of the discovery of the protein. Comparably, AIDS, was first identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September of 1982, however, months passed before the causative agent was deemed a retrovirus later to be determined the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Even before the virus was isolated methods of transmission was recognized and interventions were acknowledged (McEwen & Wills, 2011).
The first discovery was made in 1952, in the developing field of virology. Virology is the study of viruses and how they behave. To develop the vaccines for the viruses, researchers infected the HeLa cells with many types of infections, such as measles, mumps, and the infamous poliomyelitis virus, also known as Polio. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose mission is to save lives and protect people’s health security, Polio is a "crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person invading the brain and spinal cord and causing paralysis" (Freeman). Jonas Salk, who was a virologist at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP), used inactivated viruses (virus particles grown in culture and then killed by a form of heat) to create a polio vaccine. Salk drew blood from about two million children, which the NFIP checked for immunization.Through the collection of many HeLa cells and trial and error, the polio vaccine wa...
Viruses are genetic elements enclosed in protein. Although some consider them to be non-living, viruses are important biological entities because they have the capability of producing disease (Raven, 2010). One of the most common viruses in humans is the Epstein- Barr virus or abbreviated (EBV). Throughout this essay, the biology of the Epstein-Barr virus will be examined by discussing characteristics that are associated with this virus such as the process of infection and entry, viral replication, and consequences to the host cell.
Virus- An infectious agent found in virtually all life forms, including humans, animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Viruses touch us every day through water, food, physical contact, blood, animals, or even, the air you breathe. Although most are harmless, there are some that are not.... ...
Viruses have emerged as causes of foodborne disease, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Viruses cause a wide range of diseases in plants, animals and humans. These infections do not occur at random: each group of viruses has its own typical host range and cell preference. Viruses were probably always a cause of food borne disease; however with recent developments in detection we are now able to confirm the presence of viruses. Previously, those outbreaks may have been recorded as having an unknown causative agent.
My interest in the role of microbes and viruses began from UG classes (1993-1999) wherein professors taught us...
“The greatest mystery of existence is existence itself” (Chopra). Chopra, a world-renowned author, perceives the existence of life as a truly mystifying cerebration. The pending question that many scientist, and even theists, attempt to answer is how life ultimately began. Currently, the mystery is left with two propositions, evolution and creation. While both approaches attempt to answer the origins of life, evolution and creation are two contrasting concepts. Evolution views life to be a process by which organisms diversified from earlier forms whereas creation illustrates that life was created by a supernatural being. Creation and evolution both agree on the existence of microevolution and the resemblance of apes and humans but vary in terms of interpreting the origins of the life through a historical standpoint. A concept known as Faith Vs Fact comprehensively summarizes the tone of this debate, which leads the question of how life began.
...at different points in the past, this observation presents an interesting argument for panspermia. While this study does not provide conclusive evidence for presence of life in outer space, it does raise the possibility that our galaxy may be fool with bacterial spores.