Hiv And The Human Immunodeficiency Virus Essay

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

Most of us know about H.I.V, but not all of us fully understand all of the aspects of this disease. Not only are there physical aspects, but also physiological aspects.

CRISPR is a relatively new, innovative, and simple way to edit DNA. This new process has the opportunity to change the world, but also the opportunity to hurt the world as well. CRISPR uses a piece of Guide RNA to get to the part of the DNA scientists want to edit. It then splits open the DNA with an enzyme named Cas9. Then the Guide RNA attaches to the now separated DNA, which then allows scientists to drop in any new piece of DNA they want. In the end, the DNA is now edited and changed.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) puts its own genome directly into a host cell during the time of infection (Ebina et al, 2013). This can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) if it is left untreated. AIDS is caused by a retrovirus. HIV can remain dormant for years once its DNA is in the host cell (Fessenden, 2015). HIV infects

Have you ever thought about being able to pick what hair color your baby has before he or she is born? How about their eye color, their intelligence level, or their looks? What if I told you that soon this could be a possibility thanks to Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that can edit DNA. It is a type of germ-line engineering that is a “search-and replace tool” that is able to alter DNA, even down to a very single letter. According to Technologyreview.com, “The CRISPR system includes a gene-snipping enzyme and a guide molecule that can be programmed to target unique combinations of the DNA letters, A, G, C, and T; get these ingredients into a cell and they

HIV is a quite detrimental virus that has caused much disruption during the 1980’s when it came to life. HIV is “one of the fastest evolving of all organisms” (Rambaut A. ET. Al. 2004) HIV has found ways in which to resist drugs and shows evolutionary mechanisms. The HIV virus has also

There have been two strains of HIV identified in the world, HIV 1 and HIV 2. Both strains of the virus produce the same effects, but are still very different. One of the ways in which the two strains differ is by where they

Additionally, CRISPR-Cas mediated immunity develops through the intake of DNA from genetic elements such as plasmids and phages followed by its incorporation into the CRISPR loci. It is within the CRISPR loci where the small interfering RNAs are processed and transcribed that aid the nucleases for precise cleavage of corresponding sequences. Interestingly enough, recognizing the genetic sequences in CRISPR loci give a clear insight into vaccinations events that the prokaryote would’ve gone through, and can give some perception in the environmental changes occurring over a period of time. Therefore, cas endonucleases, which can be reengineered by small guide RNAs, have proven to demonstrate remarkable development and flexibility for genome editing and can be repurposed for a number of DNA purposing applications. The main scope of the report will focus on the structure and function of the CRISPR-CAS system, the organisation of the CRISPR loci and its significance, as well as contrasting some differences between prokaryotes in CRISPR guide RNA (crRNA) design.

Human immunodeficiency virus is most commonly known as HIV.18 It debilitates a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. It can spread through certain body fluids that assault the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells often called T cells.1 These essential cells help the immune system fight off infections.1 Untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells in the body.1 The damage brought on by HIV to the immune system makes it extremely difficult for the body to fight off infections and diseases. Eager infections or cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS. No effective cure exists for HIV. Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS (auto immunodeficiency syndrome – the final stage of HIV) can be classified as one of the most devastating epidemics in United States history (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). Although still an alarming concern in public health, due to prevention strategies and medical advances, the disease is less fatal and is treated as a chronic disease (instead of a death sentence, as in the past). There are currently 1.2 million people living in the US with HIV (CDC, 2015). The highest rates transmitted through sexual intercourse or injection drug use through the exchange of bodily fluids (CDC, 2015). It is estimated that 25% of those living with HIV are women, and only

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that mainly attacks the T-Cell which are used in the immune system to fight off infections. HIV left untreated leads to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). When T-Cell accounts are sparse, the body is predisposed to getting infections. (aids.gov) HIV is transmitted parenteral or sexually. (Palmisano, Vella) Around 1 and 4 people living with HIV in the United States are women. In 2014 women made up 19% (8,328) of estimate HIV diagnosis in the United States. (cdc.gov) In the 19% of women infected with HIV, many of whom are mothers, affects the life expectancy of infants during the pregnancy, birth, and gestational period.

CRISPR-Cas9, often called “CRISPR” is a genome-editing tool used in the field of genomic engineering. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, and combined with Cas9 the two are an important part of a bacterial defense system. CRISPR is natural to the bacterial cell’s immune system and provides protection against viruses. The goal of this technique is to target specific portions of genetic code and to edit the DNA at exact locations. This allows researchers and scientists to modify genes in living cells and organisms (“Questions and Answers about CRISPR”, 2017).

The virus uses RNA to transfer generic material through the generations.The RNA is contained in a core. The core is covered by an envelope.There are enzymes (eg Reverse Transcriptase, Integrase, Protease )inside the envelope. The virus uses these enzymes to produce new viruses inside the human body. There are some proteins inside the virus called “Antigens”. Inside the human body the virus attack many cells including brain cells, kidneys, bowels, genitals and CD4 Lymphocytes. CD4 Lymphocytes are important to mediate the immune response within the body. When the CD4 cells are damaged and killed, the immune functions in the body are also weakened. A healthy person has a CD4 count above 800cells/micro liter

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.

Currently, there are no vaccines and no cures for HIV or AIDS, although scientists are researching and finding new drugs and treatments. So far, scientists have discovered a variety of drugs and medication that can be used to control and slow the virus and the progression of the disease. There are some drugs which interfere with the virus ability to make copies of itself by disabling a protein it needs, like Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. If someone is diagnosed with HIV, it is important to start with treatments as soon as possible.