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Viruses
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First visualized using an electron microscope in 1939 by the American biochemist Wendell Meredith Stanley, a virus is an infectious mechanism found in almost every living organism known to man. It consists of either deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) surrounded by a protein coating known as a capsid. The size of all documented viruses are between 30 and 450 nanometers, making them up to 95 times smaller than a bacteria cell and impossible to observe without the help of an electron microscope.
Viruses are classified based on their method of replication and the genetic material that is encapsulated by the capsid. At the present time, there are over 4100 known viruses classified into over 70 families.
Viruses do not reproduce but replicate by injecting their genetic information into a living cell. The living cell acts as a host to incubate and release the newly generated virus. Enzymes inside the host cell are utilized to nourish and copy the viral genes, which can occur thousands of times within a single host cell. Once the genes have been replicated and the capsid (protein coating) is created to encapsulate it, the virus will escape the host cell or be contracted directly to another cell. Once escaped, the process will be continued in neighboring cells.
The most involved virus is the bacteriophage, which reproduces by infecting bacteria cells. The bacteriophage virus consists of a icosahedral head and a tube like body with several long “legs” that are used to attach the virus to the host bacteria. Once attached, the virus injects its DNA into the host bacteria to begin the replication process.
In most cases, a virus will damage or destroy the host cell that it incubates in. Cancer, which as of 2000 was was responsible for over 500,000 deaths in America, is the second leading cause of death in the United States and is most often the result of cells that have become infected by a virus. The infection stimulates an overgrowth of cells which will lead to the degeneration of surrounding cells and the destruction of essential bodily tissues. Of all cancers, lung cancer is the most prominent in our nation.
Viruses undergo very high levels of mutation due to their lack of a regeneration processes. Because of this, viruses are capable of overcoming hazardous environmental conditions, allowing them to infect a host continually once contracted. Mutations often allow the virus to infect undetected by the immune system, also allowing it to attack different types of cells.
Many diseases besides cancer are directly the result of viral infections, such as the common cold, which to date there are no known methods for combating such infections. At this point in history, the only effective weapon we have for combating viral infections is a strong immune system, which can destroy infected cells, thus halting the incubation process and eliminating the virus from the body. When a cell becomes infected by a virus, it releases chemicals which will act as an alarm warning all neighboring cells to become defensive. The release of these chemicals will trigger events in the immune system which will cause the body to react accordingly. One of the most common actions taken by the immune system in response to a viral infection is to raise body temperature, which in many cases will create an environment too hot for the virus to properly function or survive.
Common conditions resulting from viral infections:
- Infectious diseases which are passed from one host to another
- Influenza, commonly known as "the flu"
- The common cold
- Rubella, measles, and chickenpox
- Opportunistic infections such as Herpes and Shingles
- Debilitating the immune system and allowing other infectious diseases to effect the host
As long as your immune system is vulnerable to attack due to prolonged exposure to biological contaminants, viruses will easily penetrate your immune defenses and cause severe health complications.
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