Six Main Types Of Pathogens

Bloodborne pathogens are viruses that deteriorate cells within the body. A virus is a submicroscopic parasitic organism that feeds on cells. Viruses are dependent on cells for their nutrients so the virus survive and reproduce. Every virus consists of

I believe that viruses are living, just not in the same way as organisms you see on a daily

Having removed the detergent, the protein will refold. As shown by the Anfinsen experiment the polypeptide sequence determines the folding and therefore the three dimensional structure. As the polypeptide sequence is unaltered refolding can occur through the process of nucleation aggregation and compaction. In order to test that the protein was no longer denatured, the absorbency of the solution at 412nm could be measured and compared with the graph in figure 1 above, it should match the plot of standard ovalbumin in the absence of SDS.

is loss of its structure. This occurs when the ionics and hydrogens bonds of the protein

Many scientists hypothesize that protein dysfunction plays a role in the progressive damage and death of nerve cells. The nerve cells may be blocked from communication

A common observation in the brain of people who have died from Alzheimer’s is that plaques and tangles make from protein fragments are present. (A Century of Alzheimer’s Disease)

Alzheimer’s Disease is indicated by the break down of the nervous system, essentially the neurons within the brain (MacGill, 2009). The break down leads to nerve cell eradication, and the casualty of tissue throughout the brain (MacGill, 2009). As the disease progress, the brain begins to shrink fiercely, developing loss of its normal functioning (MacGill, 2009). Abnormal protein groups and structures of plaques and tangles characterize the disease (MacGill, 2009). Plagues and tangles are not able to be viewed or tested in the living brain, but are able to be observed in an autopsy of an infected deceased (MacGill, 2009).

Viruses are extremely small organisms that may lead to illnesses in humans, animals and plants.Ranging from mild effects to sever disease. Norovirus is a genus of genetically diverse single-stranded RNA, non-enveloped viruses in the Caliciviridae family. The known viruses in the genus are all considered to be the variant strains of a single species called Norwalk virus.

1. Domain bacteria- Single celled organisms, ( otherwise known as prokaryotic cells) that do not have a membrane protecting the cell. Bacteria can be found almost everywhere in the world.

This is a submicroscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell. It is non-cellular but consisting of a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat.

The research into Alzheimer's Disease has come a long way since 1906 when it is was discovered by Alois Alzheimer. He detected microscopic brain tissue changes called senile and neuritic plaques in deceased patients. These are chemical deposits consisting of protein molecules called Amyloid Precursor Protein(APP) that are fundamental components of a normal brain. However in the brain of an Alzheimer patient, an enzyme cuts the APP apart and leaves fragments in the brain tissue. These combined with degenerating nerve cells cause the plaques or lesions. These lesions are found in many sections of the brain including the hippocampus which regulates emotion and memory, the basal forebrain, and especially the basal nucleus of Meynert and the cortex, where the memory function is located.(2) Another sign of a diseased brain are neurofibrillary tangles, which are malformations within nerve cells.

A prion is a pathogen that lacks nucleic acid. Though they cannot reproduce and are not susceptible to procedures that break down the nucleic acid, they can replicate by stimulating normal cellular prion protein to refold from normal prion protein to abnormal prion protein. They replicate in neural tissue causing degeneration and death. The actual process of how normal prions convert to abnormal prions remains unknown.

Depending on different disease types, clinical symptoms of prion diseases vary, however, they share similar histopathological features, including neuronal loss, astrocytic activation, spongiform degeneration, and prion protein aggregation (Aguzzi et al, 2008a;

Prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a family of rare progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals. They are distinguished by long incubation periods, characteristic spongiform changes associated with neuronal loss, and a failure to induce inflammatory response. The proteinaceous infectious particles, prion was identified by an American neurologist Stanley B. Prusiner and colleagues in 1982derived from the words protein and infection (Stanley B. Prusiner -Autobiography). Prions are known to Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome and Fatal Familiar Insomnia in humans. In mammals they cause "mad cow disease" in cattle. Prion diseases affect

There are some micro-organisms with the capability to cause disease defined as pathogens (1). Now, imagine a weighing-scale representing the pathogen’s interactions with its environment. The left characterizes the virulence factors which are properties of a micro-organism to increase its chances of establishing itself within a host (2), the right signifies the host equipped with a sophisticated immune system. Suddenly, the scale tips to the left, representing a biological war which favours an outcome where the ability to cause disease has won. That is pathogenicity.