Viruses |
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| Viruses are probably my favorite part of biology, probably because they are on the brink of the living and non-living. As far as I know, there is still debate on which it is, some people consider it non-living and some consider it living. | |
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It's actually much harder than I thought to
find pics of viruses on the net. I'll probable have to scan some
from my textbook when I have a little more time and motivation (lol).
So far all I have is the pic to the left.
For a quick explanation of viruses, they are made of proteins (large molecules structured in a certain way to have a specific function) which encase a string of DNA. In regular cells, DNA is what controls all the activities within a cell. It is found in the nucleus and is well protected. However, in the virus, the DNA is only a small segment and doesn't regulate anything, it just sits there in the protein coat. Once the virus comes in contact with a cell, it injects the DNA segment into the cell. This DNA segment finds it's way into the cell's nucleus and inserts itself into the cell's DNA. This new DNA starts telling the cell to create new viruses. The organelles (kind of like organs in a human, they each have different function to maintain metabolism and keep the cell alive) begin deteriorating to make the proteins for the new viruses. When there are too many viruses, the cell's membrane bursts and it dies, releasing the new viruses which go on to infect more cells and the cycle continues. |
| Obviously there's a lot more to viruses, but unfortunately I don't have enough time to go threw it right now. Hopefully soon I'll have more info to add. | |
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