Viruses and Biotechnology Research Assignment Paper

VIRUSES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
A virus is a microscopic organism that can infect all types of organisms such as animals, plants, and bacteria. It is made up of a nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, which is enclosed in a protective layer called a capsid. The capsid is a unique feature of a virus that is made up of proteins which the virus has encoded itself. The capsid is further protected by a lipid membrane, which some viruses do not have. Viruses are non-cellular organisms since they have no nucleus, organelles, cytoplasm, or cell membrane. Because of this, viruses do not belong to any kingdom.
Viruses can only have either a DNA or RNA, but not both. They are classified based on the type of nucleic acid present. DNA viruses are either linear or circular and double or single stranded. On the other hand, RNA viruses may be either double or single stranded and have either cationic or anionic strand. RNA viruses that transcribe into DNA are known as retroviruses.
Viruses cannot live on their own. They are not able to feed and multiply without depending on another living organism. In order to survive and self-replicate, they need to attack and enter a human or animal cell and take over it. The infected cells will generate viral particles that may harm the host and cause its death.
Viruses that infect bacteria are known as bacteriophages. It is one of the most abundant organisms on Earth. They can be found in soil, water, aerosols, and animal intestinal tracts. Some examples of viral diseases are AIDS – caused by HIV, Wart – caused by Herpes Simplex Virus, Flu – caused by influenza, measles – caused by morbillivirus, and cancer – caused by hepatitis B. There are also nonviral particles which contain proteins but no nucleic acid. Some of these nonviral particles are the cause of mad cow disease and Creutfeldt-Jacob disease in humans.
Viruses do not simply attack cells. They need to attach their surface markers to a specific receptor site. This makes viruses attack certain types of cells only. For example, the rabies virus only attacks brain or nervous cells while the cold and flu virus prefers the mucus lining cells of the lungs and the airways.
Lytic and Lysogenic Viral Life Cycles
All viruses follow steps in their life cycle. First, the virus particle attaches itself to a host, a process known as adsorption. Next, it injects its DNA or RNA into the host cell. The nucleic acid will take over the cell and use its enzymes. After this, the enzymes will start replicating producing new viral particles. The newly created part...