Mysteries of the Virus :: essays research papers

Introduction to viruses For centuriessubmicroscopic organisms, also known as viruses,that grow and multiply at different rates inside of acell, soak up been circulating our planet.1 The cellproduces the various, essential components of thevirus. These components are 1) DNA or RNAnucleic acids, which are the genes of the virus.Viral particles posses either DNA strands or RNAstrands, but never both in contrast bacterialinfections contain both. The amount of DNA/RNAin a virus changes depending on the type of virus.2) A protein which is passing important in ahazardous virus because is provides a strong,protective barrier as the virus passes from cell tocell.2 Viruses do not contain the enzymes andmetabolous pressures needed for self-duplication.The missing components are taken from the hostcells they infect. Replication begins when the virusenters the cell. The enzymes remove the coat ofthe virus, and the RNA or DNA particles come in hit with the ribosomes in the cell. The virusthen f inds the protein by using the nucleic acid.Several new RNA or DNA strands are made.Once the cell has exceeded the maximum totof strands, it then bursts open and the newparticles find new host cells. The process is thenrepeated.3 The following is a list of the many waysviruses can be classified 1.) Whether viralparticles contain RNA or DNA strands. In somecases there are retroviruses. That is when a RNAvirus enters the cell, then converts to a DNA virus.2.) Whether the genome is single stranded ordouble stranded 3.) For single stranded RNAviruses, the code for a protein could be positivestranded or negative stranded. 4.) The genomemay be linear or circular and may be in a singlesegment or multiple segments. 5.) The surface andoverall shape of the virus. 6.) The effects of theviruses.4 Viruses can directly cause damage to thecells by seizing the cells metabolic resourcesand/or by producing toxic components whichinterfere with their sane functions. These viruseswill generally make w hat is known as a cytopathiceffect (CPE) in tissue culture cells. Viruses canalso cause cells to alter their components fashioningthem targets for anti-cellular viruses such asAIDS.5 II. An In-Depth view Infectious diseasesare the third leading cause of death in the UnitedStates and the leading cause worldwide... but,we only extend 1% of our health-care budget onprevention, claims Dr. David Satcher.6 For yearsscientists have been complaining about the amountof government money spent on virus prevention.Within the ultimo twenty years, more than 30 newvirulent types have been discovered, like LymeDisease, Legionnaires disease, AIDS, andEbola.7 For the past couple of years, scientists