What Are Viruses?

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

Viruses are microscopic particles that invade and take over both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. They consist of two structures, which are the nucleic acid and capsid. The nucleic acid contains all genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA, and is enclosed in the capsid, which is the protein coating that helps the virus attach to and penetrate the host cell. In some cases, certain viruses have a membrane surrounding the capsid, called an envelope. This structure allows viruses to become more stealthy and protected. There are two cycles in which a virus can go into: lytic and lysogenic. The lytic cycle consists of the virus attaching to a cell, injecting its DNA, and creating more viruses, which proceed to destroy the host. On the other hand, the lysogenic cycle includes the virus attaching to the cell, injecting its DNA, which combines with the cell’s DNA in order for it to become provirus. Then, the provirus DNA may eventually switch to the lytic cycle and destroy the host.

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

Viruses - are extremely small particles made from protein and either DNA or RNA. They are not made up of cells instead they invade the living cells of other organisms and use them to produce many copies of

For years, the topic of mandated vaccinations for children has been a highly debated topic among health professionals, educators, parents, and government officials. Currently, the Center for Disease Control recommends that children between the ages of zero and six years should receive twenty-eight doses of ten different vaccines (ProCon.org, 2014). Although there is no federal law that requires that children get vaccinated, all fifty states require certain vaccinations for children before entering public schools (ProCon.org, 2014). These requirements often vary from state to state. All states in the United States allow for medical exemptions to the mandated vaccinations, while forty-eight allow religious exemptions and nineteen allow philosophical exemptions (ProCon.org, 2014). Mandated vaccination has remained a highly controversial topic as it questions whether a person should be able to make choices about his or her own body or if rules can be imposed that mandate vaccinations for the potential greater good of the public’s overall health.

Viruses are microscopic organisms that can only replicate inside cells of the host organism. Viruses for the most part are so small you would have to use a conventional optical microscope. Viruses can infect any and all types of organisms, such as animals (to include Humans), plants and even bacteria as well as archaea (archaea constitutes a domain or kingdom of single-celled microorganisms). There are millions of different types of viruses. With viruses being believed to be the most abundant type of biological entity, they can be virtually found in every ecosystem on the planet.

One of the most complex and unexplored disease causing agents are viruses. They are known to be able to infect a wide array of organisms, from plants and animals, to bacteria and fungi. Essentially, anything that is living is capable of being infected with a virus. Once the host's cell is infected, the viruses' goal is to produce more viruses which will infect neighboring cells to continue the cycle.

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 virus is a small nucleic acid molecule that can only multiply within a living cell of the actual host. It can produce a copy of that specific virus at an alarming rate. They are becoming more dangerous today. We need to build a better knowledge base to educate healthcare professionals and parents that bacteria and viruses are two different animals. Giving an antibiotic for a virus is not going to help; it will eventually cause antibiotic resistance. With viruses, the symptoms just need to be managed with over the counter medication, rest, and letting it run its course.

The reason why scientists still study this disease is to try and learn from it so that they can prevent a virus like this from happening again. Scientists could also use disease to the create treatment against other viruses. Even though scientists can easily prevent the Spanish Flu now through modern medicine, researchers still have many uses for it, like stopping even bigger and crazier viruses.

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.

Viruses do not have the chemical machinery needed to survive on their own. They, thus seek out host cells in which they can multiply. These viruses enter the body from the environment or other individuals from soil to water to air via nose, mouth, or any breaks in the skin and seek a cell to infect.

With the vast amount of animal and plant species, there are, of course, vast amounts of viruses that can affect them. From Canine Parvovirus to Cucumber Mosaic virus, the virology is extensive. Luckily because of modern science and innovations in biotechnology, these viruses are being prevented and eradicated so plants and animals can have long, healthy lives.

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.