Many people get viruses, prions, and bacteria confused in multiple ways. However, these are different in several aspects, and once informed about them, people should no longer get them mixed up. For example, the most important and most unique differences between bacteria, prions, and viruses is that bacteria is a living organism, prions are not living organisms, and the debate regarding the living status of viruses has been, and still is, running on without the slightest sight of a resolution. Other pieces of evidence differentiating these is the way they reproduce, the way that they look, as in their shape and size, and the diseases that they cause and can help cure. In the past fifty years medical and technological information has increased majorly, revealing more knowledge and insight as to the similarities and differences between viruses, bacteria, and prions.
The first topic of discussion is the different structure types and sizes of these different organisms. Bacterium can appear in a few different shapes when you observe it under a microscope. The first of three is a spherical shape. The scientific name assigned to this type of bacteria is coccus (plural: cocci). Coccus is a term that means a berry. Many berries are in the shape of a sphere and this is why scientists designated it this name. Secondly, there are bacteria that exist as a rod shape. These are called bacilli (singular: bacillus), meaning a little stick. Lastly, and most uniquely, there are certain bacteria that are in the form of a spiral. The name given to these is spirillum (plural: spirilla), meaning spiral or coil. As for the way bacteria lives with other bacteria, it can exist on its own, in a pair, diplo-, in a group, staphylo-, or in a chain, strepto-....
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• Panse, Sonal. "Difference Between Lytic and Lysogenic Cycles: How Viral Infections Spread." Bright Hub. Bright Hub, 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
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Typhoid fever is a systemic infection caused by the gram-negative organism Salmonella typhi. It is transmitted through fecal-oral or urine-oral route by either direct or indirect contact of the carrier’s or infected individual’s feces or urine. Humans are the only source of this organism. Ingestion of
In the subsequent essay I will discuss and explain the relative function of the Prion protein. The Prion protein, also known as PrPC, ‘’is a membrane-anchored protein with two N-glycosylation sites and, although it is highly expressed in the nervous tissues, its physiological functions have yet to be well established’’ (Coordination Chemistry Reviews). PrPC/PrP is found in healthy brains in this form, and consists of 250 Amino Acids, yet after a simple misfolding in the secondary structure; this can alienate the PrP and forms PrPsc, which is the abnormal form of the Prion protein. The infectious agent PrPsc causes neuropathological changes in the brain, and instantly places the individual under the category of someone with the prion disease. PrPsc forms insoluble fibres and thus cannot be studied well using Nuclear Mass Resonance (NMR), and it is also more resistant to protease digestion. Furthermore, ‘’ The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) arise from conversion of the membrane-bound prion protein from PrPC to PrPSc, the latter being the scrapie form. Examples of the TSEs include mad cow disease, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, scrapie in goats and sheep, and kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans’’ (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2904554/. 2014). The following diagram shows the conversion from PrPc to PrPsc:
"HIV/AIDS Basics." AIDS.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. . Regularly maintained by the U.S. Dept. of HHS
In sporadic CJD, the disease occurs even though the affected does not have any known risk factors that would cause an occurrence of the disease. This sudden occurring CJD is indisputably the most frequently diagnosed type of Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease. This statistically accounts for at least 85 percent of CJD cases. Due to that there are some fifty to sixty deaths per year due to sporadic CJD in the United States alone. Similar figures are seen in other countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Scientists are stumped as to the development and nature of proteinaceous infectious particles. Neither virus nor bacteria, these prions, are believed to cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), rare diseases said to be 100% fatal, without possessing nucleic acids. Their unhindered growth is thought to be the cause for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD), scrapie and other TSE, diseases characterized by the brain microscopically turning into sponge-like matter. There are no cures or effective treatments available today because drawbacks constantly prevent the development of efficient therapy. Studies continue to slowly progress, hoping to find methods to immunize against more prion diseases.
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...
...ving things carry viruses in their cells. Even fungi and bacteria and inhabited by viruses and are occasionally destroyed by them. A virus makes copies of itself in a cell until eventually the cell gets pigged with virus and pops and the viruses spill out of the broken cell. If enough cells are destroyed, such as they do in the case of Ebola, the host dies. A virus does not "want" to kill its host. That is not in the best interest of the virus, because then the virus may also die, unless it can jump fast enough out of the dying host into a new host.
Spink, Gemma. "AIDS." AVERTing HIV and AIDS. 23 Dec 2009. Web. 11 Jan 2010. .
There is a lot that we still do not understand about prions. All cases of prion-caused diseases are terminal, and doctors are entirely helpless. Perhaps, in the future, a method of combating this pathogen will be discovered. Until that time comes though, prions remain essentially invulnerable to us. The only measures we can take in protecting ourselves from diseases caused by prions are purely preventative. Stricter food production monitoring, making sure no brain matter is distributed to the populace, and other ways to halt the spread of diseases. And yet, sometimes people just get CJD sporadically. Prion caused diseases are, essentially, a medical mystery.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is an uncommon, deteriorating, consistently fatal brain disorder that is caused by prions. The symptoms of CJD are similar of Alzheimer’s but progress much faster. There are three variations of CJD, sporadic, familial, and acquired. All variations affect the brain the same way and have the same result of death. CJD is an untreatable and incurable disease.
For years, scientists had though that the only way to get infected with an infectious disease is trough out parasites, viruses, or bacteria, but there is a reason why not everybody is susceptible to the same diseases or can be infected with the same virus than others,
The term “microbiology” refers to the branch of study that deals with microorganisms. Microbiology is extremely important in today’s time for the crucial information that the study provides. Human’s have had a long and cruel history of disease and sickness, for example the bubonic plague, but microbiology gives scientists the ability to observe, study, and prevent sickness like the bubonic plague to ever happen again. At the center of microbiology lies the bacterial cell, one that differs from those of a plant or animal because it lacks a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles which, in turn are traded for pili, flagella, and in some cases a cell capsule. Bacteria that are capable of causing illness or disease are called pathogens, pathogens work by releasing toxins in the body or directly damaging the host’s cells. An article by Lise Wilkinson explains that the earliest categorizations of bacterial cells first occurred in the late eighteen-hundreds to the early nineteen-hundreds by scientists (at the time) O. Muller and C. Ehrenburg (Wilkinson, 2004). The observation and identification of unknown bacteria that emerge is crucial because these new bacteria might be pathogenic and cause illness so it is very important that the bacteria is identified as soon as possible in order to either prevent the upcoming illness or treat it. While the common person is unable to identify if they are carrying bacteria (which is very likely), specialized tests that are ran in a lab can identify different types of bacteria and can even help
Stine, Gerald James. AIDS Update 2012: An Annual Overview of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
My interest in the role of microbes and viruses began from UG classes (1993-1999) wherein professors taught us...
Part one of this essay will deal with defining bacteria, viruses, fungi, microbes, and pirons. Part two of the essay will focus on indigenous micro flora that is on and in the body, and part three will describe the structure and replication procedure of viruses.