Nature Online Virus Lab

We hear how Henrietta’s cells helped learn and find cures about so many viruses, but what is a virus? A virus is a microscopic organism that only replicates within the cells of a host organism. One of the most well known viruses Henrietta’s cells helped us with was the polio virus. Polio virus is a viral infection of your central nervous system. Polio virus is a lytic virus meaning that, polio goes through reproduction and the cells bursts. Polio virus’s most extensive outbreak was in the early to mid-1990s. Thankfully the vaccine was released in 1995.

When we hear the word virus, we usually think of something that makes us sick. A virus is an ultramicroscopic infectious organism that, having no independent metabolic activity, can replicate only within a cell of another host organism. A virus consists of a core of nucleic acid, either RNA or DNA, surrounded by a coating of antigenic protein and sometimes a lipid layer surrounds it as well. The viral genome provides the genetic code for replication, and the host cell provides the necessary energy and raw materials. To fight viruses, we use vaccines. While some may infect a broad range, other viruses can only infect certain kinds of cells. Vaccines are made of inactive, dead or weakened virus cells or protein antigens that can no longer infect

The biological significance of this article is due in part to the fact that viruses are being considered as partway-living things. Even though they are only halfway living, per se, they are still an important part of the study of living things because of the unique way in which they “live” and continue to reproduce by taking advantage of host cells. The information in this article relates to biologists in that viruses provide an entirely different element of potential life, as they are a cause for reconsideration when it comes to defining and determining life and non-life forms. This

As technology continues to develop, people are learning more and more about this invasive form of life. Viruses may be evolved of DNA or RNA from larger organisms. Some of the ways one can come into contact with viruses are being exposed to body fluids, not washing hands after using the facilities or before eating, and touching or eating infected animals. I strongly believe that viruses are living, because they respond to the environment, have DNA or RNA, and reproduce.

It is often argued whether viruses are living or not. Those who don’t believe that viruses are living generally base their opinion off of the fact that they do not follow the basic definition of “life”. They do not carry out life-sustaining functions on their own like normal organisms. On the other side of the argument, some believe that viruses are in fact, living beings, which is where I rest my opinion.

Viruses are coated genetic material that invade cells and use the cell's apparatus for reproduction.

A virus is a small capsule that contains DNA or RNA, viruses, unlike bacteria are not self sufficient and need a host in

Bacteria are prokaryotic, and if you were to observe the two cells under a light microscope, you could distinguish their differences. The biggest distinguishment you can make while carefully observing the two cells, is the lack of a nucleus in a prokaryotic cell as compared to a eukaryotic. Prokaryotes also lack any membrane-bound organelles.

There are three domains of organisms, which are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Domain Bacteria and Domain Archaea prokaryotes, and Domain Eukarya inevitably includes eukaryotes. Prokaryotes are the most abundant and able to adapt to many different environments. They do not contain a nucleus, circular DNA,

Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic, which are mostly single-celled incomplex microorganisms. Both Bacteria and Archaea have a variety of prokaryotes classified in multiple kingdoms (Reece, et al., Campbell Biology, 2014). There are a number of scientists who believe that Archaea cells may be the precursor to Eukaryotic cells and that they have more in common with Eukaryotes than Prokaryotes (Madigan, Martinko, & Dunlap, 2009).

After looking at many articles I believe that viruses are not alive. Even though in the beginning I believed they were. For an object to be alive it needs to have certain characteristics such as being able to: grow, develop, have a purpose, reproduce, adapt, and have cells. A living thing could reproduce which means they would make offspring. Viruses don't have the ability to grow and develop on their own. Viruses don’t have the ability to reproduce on their own without the help of a keeper

A lot of the time when a virus come into contact with the host or as we may know it, the cell, it can insert its genetic material into its host, literally taking over the host's functions. Some viruses may remain dormant inside host cells for long periods, causing no obvious change in their host cells, but once stimulated new viruses are formed, self-assemble, and burst out of the host cell, killing the cell and going on to infect other cells. All this is just a constant battle between the host and cell. Without a host cell, viruses cannot carry out their life-sustaining functions or reproduce. They cannot synthesize proteins, because they lack ribosomes and must use the ribosomes of their host cells to translate viral messenger RNA into viral proteins. Viruses cannot generate or store energy, but have to derive their energy, and all other metabolic functions, from the host cell. Sometimes the virus will not be in the cell but outside functioning as coat for the protein. Viruses cause a number of diseases in humans most commonly heard of ones are, smallpox, the common cold, chickenpox, influenza, shingles, herpes, polio, rabies, ebola, hanta fever, and AIDS are examples of the diseases caused by viruses. Even some types of cancer but not all. As Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, “All warfare is based on deception”. He could have easily been describing the ancient battle between virus and host

Collins (1997) stated that Viruses are not true living cells and are much smaller than bacteria. Viruses are composed of a protein coating around genetic material (DNA or RNA) and are unable to reproduce unless they are inside a living cell. Viruses do not multiply in food. They do multiply in cells in various organs or tissues of the body. For example, Hepatitis A virus replicates in cells of the liver. It is quite difficult to isolate viruses on or in food. Normally, the best treatment for viral infections is allowing time (bed rest) for each individual's functioning immune system to combat the virus Viruses are much smaller in size. The viruses differ from bacteria are they cannot live outside without living host human or animals. The two important viruses are Hepatitis A virus and nor viruses

This little package of mayhem consists of relatively few parts. A virus is simply a protein capsule called a capsid, sometimes surrounded by an envelope, containing a genome. The genome consists of nucleic acids arranged as DNA or less commonly, RNA. Dozens of variants of this fundamental arrangement exist with differences in the structure of the capsule and the arrangement of the genome. Small differences or changes in these components allow some viruses to continue to outmaneuver researchers, while millions of dollars are spent trying to understand and eliminate them.

     The smallest viruses are only 20 nm in diameter, smaller even than a ribosome in a cell. Though not a living thing, viruses are infections particles