What Is Bk Virus? Essay

The article first addresses the issue of whether or not to consider viruses as living. Although viruses used to be thought of as being biological chemicals due to the fact that they consist of nucleic acids

The argument on whether viruses are considered living or dead has been debated in science for years. While this topic has been extensively researched, a conclusion has yet to be reached. However, from my own research, I concluded that viruses are non-living. To better understand this topic, I will discuss cell theory, the differences between a prokaryote and a eukaryote cell, and the structures and functions of a nucleus and cell wall organelles.

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.

The virus fuses with the cell’s plasma membrane. The capsid proteins are removed, releasing the viral proteins and RNA. Reverse transcriptase catalyzes the synthesis of a DNA strand complementary to the viral RNA. Reverse transcriptase catalyzes the synthesis of a second DNA strand complementary to the first. The double-stranded DNA is incorporated as a provirus into the cell’s DNA. Proviral genes are transcribed into RNA molecules, which serve as genomes for the next viral generation and as mRNAs for translation into viral proteins. The viral proteins include capsid proteins and reverse transcriptase (made in the cytosol) and envelope glycoproteins (made in the ER). Vesicles transport the glycoproteins from the ER to the cell’s plasma membrane. Capsids are assembled around viral genomes and reverse transcriptase molecules. New viruses bud off from the host cell.

I recently read an article written in The NEWYORKER called The Deadliest Virus by Michael Specter. The article talked about the Avian Flu virus, also known as “bird flu”. In the article, Specter interviewed many people, but the most important person, in my opinion, is a virologist who conducted research on the Avian Flu, Ron Fouchier. This article raised many ethical questions. The questions are as followed: Should research be conducted on this virus? Does Fouchier’s research pose a threat? Does the risk of the work outweigh the benefits of the research?

The organism adheres to the epithelial cells in its host by pilli. This opportunistic pathogen can affect people of all ages and specifically targets patients that have immune deficiencies, debilitating diseases, and infants in the NICU. Patients are at greater risk of contracting the organism if they have recently had a surgery, mechanical ventilation, central venous catheter, arterial catheterization, inhalation medication therapy, tracheal tubes, or have low apgar scores. It can cause a variety of diseases and infections such as urinary tract infections, meningitis, pneumonia, respiratory tract infections, keratoconjunctivitis, osteomyelitis, keratitis, endocarditis, cutaneous infections, and endophthalmitis. (Currey,

The SH (small hydrophobic) protein, matrix protein (M), and the M2 protein are envelope-associated proteins that are not involved in viral attachment or syncytium formation (3). Other proteins such as the nucleoprotein (N), phosphoprotein (P), and the large nucleoprotein (L) are in the nucleocapsid. NS-1 and NS-2 are non-structure protein that is only found in the infected cells but not present in virions (3).

If you have a weak immune system, the BK virus may become active again. If this happens, the virus can cause inflammation in the urinary tract and damage the kidneys.

HSV is part of the family herpetoviridae and the genus simplexvirus. There are two strains of this virus: HSV1 known as the oral infection and HSV2 known as the genital infection. The structure of the virus is an enveloped, icosahedral capsid, and single linear double-stranded DNA. The capsid contains dsDNA, α and β proteins. The α proteins regulate the reproductive cycle and block the presentation of antigenic peptides on the host membrane. The β proteins are in charge of the viral nucleic acid metabolism and capsid proteins. The glycoprotein spikes are gB, gC, and gD. There are many modes of transmission of the virus like

There is still a great deal of information to learn from the study of viruses and the continued exploration of the viral genome is crucial in understanding how viruses communicate, transmit from host to host and evade immune responses. The ever-change nature of the viral genome has shown us that the most dangerous viral infections of today may be undermined by newer and more effective viruses, resulting in catastrophic outcomes. Through the study of viruses, it is the hope of the scientific community to be ahead of the viral curve, preventing infections before they even

Since viruses were first discovered in 1892, there has been an ongoing debate of whether or not a virus can be classified as living organisms. A virus is composed of two simple components: a genome and a protein coat to protect this genome, and they are known to infect living host cells to replicate. From this definition, it does not define either the possibility of whether or not that a virus is alive. It gives the structure and function of the virus, but not the general rules that are needed to be met when an organism is considered alive. Some scientists believe that the discovery of the mimivirus prompts that all viruses are alive. Others claim that the mimivirus is an anomaly and does not relate to the general aspects of viruses. Viruses

This patient is mostly likely suffering from Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, commonly called PTLD. Besides skin cancer, PTLD is one of the most common malignancies of post transplantation (LaCasce, 2006). Approximately 15% of transplant patients develop PTLD and it has a higher incidence amongst children than adults (DynaMed Plus, 2017) PTLD has a variety of presentations which lends to the difficulty and diversity of treatment options used for the disorder. The sites affected by PTLD and the incidence of the disorder depend its association with Epstein Barr virus and the transplant organ (LaCasce, 2006). The associated EBV infection is most commonly due to the donor graft and less commonly due to new environmental exposure

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 HIV-1 virion is approximately 120 nm in diameter, roughly spherical, and is composed of two copies of a single stranded positive sense RNA enclosed by a capsid (24). The HIV-1 genome is less than 10 kb and encodes for more than nine different gene products. It encodes for 3 major structural protein genes: gag (group-specific antigen), pol (DNA polymerase), and env (Envelope), which code for major structural proteins and essential enzymes. Gag generates the mature Gag protein matrix (MA or p17), capsid (CA or p24), nucleocapsid (NC or p7), and p6, which encompass proteins for the basic infrastructure of the virus such as the inner core of the viral particle (25). Pol encodes for reverse transcriptase (RT), which enables the virus to reproduce, integrase (IN), which is necessary to integrate the viral double stranded DNA into the host genome, RNAse H, and HIV protease, which are all encapsulated in the core of the inner particle formed by the viral capsid protein p24 (25). Env encodes for glycoproteins of the outer membrane such as outer gp120 (which enables the virus to attach and fuse to cells of the host), and transmembrane gp41 that anchors the glycoprotein complex to the surface of the virion (25). Between the core and the envelope is the HIV matrix proteins which are composed of the viral protein p17 (23). HIV-1 also encodes for proteins with important regulatory elements (tat (Trans-Activator of Transcription) and rev

to the patients.21 For example, BK viral occurs ''in the urine and can cause inflammation and