Becker's World of the Cell (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780321934925
Author: Jeff Hardin, Gregory Paul Bertoni
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 4, Problem 4.9PS
Are They Alive? Biologists sometimes debate whether viruses should be considered alive. Let’s join in the debate.
- (a) What are some ways in which viruses resemble cells?
- (b) What are some ways in which viruses differ from cells?
- (c) Choose either of the two following positions and defend it: (1) Viruses are alive. (2) Viruses are not alive.
- (d) Why do you suppose that viral illnesses are more difficult to treat than bacterial illnesses?
- (e) Design a strategy to cure a viral disease without harming the patient.
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Students have asked these similar questions
Are viruses living? Why or why not?
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Chapter 4 Solutions
Becker's World of the Cell (9th Edition)
Ch. 4 - Why do scientists currently believe that RNA,...Ch. 4 - You have discovered a new organism living in...Ch. 4 - If a scientist were studying a disease in which...Ch. 4 - Imagine that you are building an artificial...Ch. 4 - If viruses are nonliving particles, how can they...Ch. 4 - Wrong Again. For each of the following false...Ch. 4 - Prob. 4.2PSCh. 4 - Toward an Artificial Cell. Scientists have...Ch. 4 - Sentence Completion. Complete each of the...Ch. 4 - Telling Them Apart. Suggest a way to distinguish...
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- 1. . Using the 3-domain approach of classification, into which domain would you place viruses? Explain your reasoning. 2. Based on your response above, and the seven major properties associated with life, would you consider viruses living things?arrow_forwardWRITE ABOUT A THEME: ORGANIZATION While virusesare considered by most scientists to be nonliving, they doshow some characteristics of life, including the correlationof structure and function. In a short essay (100–150 words),discuss how the structure of a virus correlates with its function.arrow_forwardThe cell is the basic unit of all living things, and viruses which are generally not considered living but have the ability to infect cells. Describe how the structure of a virus compares to the structure of a cell. You should explain (not list) at least two similarities and two differences between features of cells and viruses including a brief explanation of the function of those structures. Explain why viruses need cells.arrow_forward
- microbiology question Which of the following statements is true regarding bacteriophages and eukaryotic viruses? A. Both may enter a host cell by endocytosis. B. Both involve entry of the entire virus particle into the host cell. C. Both can have segmented genetic material. D. Bacteriophages leave the capsid outside of the cell that they infect, while eukaryotic virus infections involve the entry of the capsid with the nucleic acid.arrow_forward1."What protein structural features are involved in the antigenic nature of epitopes? 2.What steps occur in the immune response following the primary infection of a vertebrate by a virus? 3.Assume you know that for a particular non‐enveloped virus, gene A codes for a transcriptional activator, gene B for an origin binding protein, and gene C for a capsid protein. Following a normal infection in an animal, what would most likely generate a neutralizing antibody?"arrow_forwardQuestion:- There seem to be an unlimited number of possible viruses that could infect humans. How does our immune system make sure it can fight all of them?arrow_forward
- Can you help? I cannot seem to figure out all of the correct answers. I know lysis and budding is one but what is the other (s)? I am so lost! Thanks! Can Egress by viruses from the host cell occur by lysis or budding? Does egress by viruses immediately kill it? Does egress by viruses from the host cell happen after replication of its protein and genetic components and before assembly into new viruses? Is egress by virus from the host cell part of either lytic or lysogenic cycles?arrow_forwardDifferent types of viruses have different types of genomes- some are double-stranded DNA, some are single-stranded DNA, some are double-stranded RNA, and some are single-stranded RNA. The Ebola virus genome is a piece of single-stranded RNA. Given this piece of information, do you expect it to see %Adenine = %Uracil and the %Guanine = %Cytosine? Why or why not?arrow_forwardWhen Wimmer and coworkers announced that they had synthesized the poliovirus, they created considerable controversy. Some people feared that deadly and highly contagious viruses might be synthesized by bioterrorists. The researchers responded that they were merely applying current knowledge and techniques to demonstrate the principle that viruses are basically chemical entities that can be synthesized in the laboratory. Do you think scientists should synthesize viruses or other agents that can cause infectious disease? What are the implications of forbidding such research?arrow_forward
- Fill in the blanks. The parentheses after each blank represent the choices for the blank. Scientists already knew that a special type of virus called a bacteriophage inserts genetic information into a bacterial cell in order to force the bacterial cell to make more bacteriophage viruses. What scientists did not know, however, was whether that genetic information is carried by the _____________ (proteins, DNA) covering the outside of the bacteriophage virus or by the _____________ (proteins, DNA) inside the bacteriophage virus.arrow_forward3a. A virus that typically forms an envelope is now being prevented from budding out of the host cell. Would this virus still be considered infectious? Why or why not? Please explain in detail.arrow_forwardViruses: a. Describe the structure and composition of viruses. What are three reasons that they are different from cellular organisms? b. Describe what a lysogenic bacteriophage is and how it is different from a lytic bacteriophage. c. Describe what is similar and different about the lifecycle of a non-enveloped DNA animal virus compared to an enveloped animal retrovirus.arrow_forward
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