The coronavirus has infected many people. You've probably already wondered, what are these viruses in general?
If you have a runny nose, the common cold virus is usually to blame. Fortunately, we have immunity to deal with a cold, so it goes away quickly.
Other viruses are more difficult to defeat.
There are medications for viruses, but they are not always effective. Therefore, if the virus has entered the cells of the body, the task of the immune system is to cleanse them.
There is a big difference between bacteria and viruses
Both bacteria and viruses can cause human illness. But at the same time they are very different.
Bacteria are living things made up of one simple cell. Cells are the “building blocks of life”, all living things, including our body, are made of them.
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The bacterial cell contains everything that is required for life. The bacterium is able to feed, multiply and get rid of unnecessary substances. But the virus cannot. He survives only at the expense of others, simply forcing other people's cells to work for him.
The virus enters the cell. And then he begins to use it, making many of his copies. Some viruses copy themselves in such quantities that the cell simply bursts and dies. Millions of new viruses are released from it, ready to attack the next cell.
Instruction box inside
The cell is a very complex system. The virus, on the other hand, is relatively primitive. In fact, he does not even fulfill all the requirements formulated by scientists to define a living being.
Viruses do not consume or excrete anything. They shift all these concerns onto others.
Imagine a virus as a small box. Inside are his genes - a kind of instruction manual that describes how the virus works.
The purpose of the virus is to make the cell read this “instruction” and do what is written in it.
Good viruses
We carry a lot of viruses in us all the time. They are everywhere. But, fortunately, not all viruses are dangerous. Some of them even participate in very important processes in nature.
For example, a teaspoon of water contains several million viruses! In the sea, they kill bacteria, providing food for other organisms.
Most viruses do not harm humans because they only attack a certain type of cell.
Some viruses only attack pigs, others cause disease in plants. Still others prefer bacteria. On earth, there are viruses for almost all living things.
May change
The current coronavirus was originally an animal virus. It was probably carried by bats.
How did it happen that he spread to people?
In the process of creating copies of the virus, errors occur periodically. The copy is not entirely accurate. This is called mutation.
With some "errors" viruses survive just fine. Other inaccuracies can destroy the virus, which will no longer be able to penetrate into the cells, which means it will die.
But occasionally viruses mutate so that, instead of infecting animals, they begin to attack human cells. If such a virus enters the human body, it can become the beginning of a new dangerous disease.
Need a key
A virus can enter a cell if its "spines" or other surface features match the shape of the small formations on the outside of the cell.
For example, the surface of the coronavirus has spikes suitable for cells in the lungs of humans. These thorns act as keys. Some cells have “keyholes” that correspond exactly to these keys. Having found the necessary "keyhole", the virus is fixed on the cell, and it accepts it.
The virus can place its genetic material (ie, "instructions") inside the cell in several ways. For example, the "instruction" is injected with a kind of needle. Or the virus enters the cell as a whole.
The coronavirus fuses with the cell. So his "instruction" is inside.
The cell became a virus production factory
The cell reads the "instruction" that the virus has given to it. Now a factory has emerged inside the cell, producing new viruses with "instructions." She also produces capsules with substances that the virus can use.
The cell produces everything the virus needs. It becomes a viral factory.
The ready-made viruses can then leave the cell and travel through the body. Or the cell is so overwhelmed with viruses that it bursts and dies. And then many new viruses break free and attack new victims.
This is why a person is sick
Anxiety rises in the body. Immunity releases its agents to arrest uninvited guests. At this moment, a person feels weak and sick.
Influenza viruses and coronavirus attack and damage lung cells.
Patients with coronavirus have a fever and a cough. When we get the flu, we also suffer from a runny nose and cough. This is how the body reacts to infection and defends itself against it.
Coronavirus spreads through the air in small droplets of liquid that fly out of a person's mouth when they cough. Anyone can breathe in these droplets. Or someone can touch the place where they settled and then touch the mouth. Thus, the virus spreads.
Medicines and vaccines can help
Since the virus is not really a living being, it is very difficult to find an effective drug against it, which would not harm the cells.
Scientists are trying to create a drug that would make sure that the "keys" of viruses no longer fit on the surface of cells - or one that interferes with the copying process of the virus. But such drugs are few.
Vaccines protect against some viruses. When we are vaccinated, our immune system learns to recognize the virus. In this case, he attacks the virus so quickly that it simply does not have time to produce many copies.
Now scientists are simultaneously developing drugs and vaccines against coronavirus.
Some viruses cannot be eliminated
In some cases, the person never gets rid of the virus completely. It remains in the body for life. The genetic material ("instruction") of such a virus is embedded in the genetic material of our own cells. At times, the virus simply dies down in anticipation of a new opportunity to break free.
This happens, for example, when the immune system is unable to track down a virus. The herpes virus is a similar type.
Looks like an alien
Viruses can be of very different shapes - polygonal, round or serrated. Viruses of the "bacteriophage" type look the most bizarre. They look like little spiders or aliens. Bacteriophages inject their genetic material into bacteria. They are not dangerous to humans.
Much is known about the world of viruses, but more scientists have yet to learn.
Giant viruses
Viruses are the smallest and simplest microorganisms of all existing on Earth.
If we imagine that a cell is an aircraft carrier, then the bacteria in comparison with it seem like an ordinary rowing boat. And the virus is a bottle cork swinging on the waves nearby.
But in fact, there are more viruses. They were discovered just a few years ago. The largest viruses are even larger than simple bacteria. They have many more genes than other viruses, and most of their genetic material is completely unexplored.
Scientists are wondering where the giant viruses came from. Maybe, before becoming parasites, they belonged to a separate type of living organisms that lived on the planet a long time ago?
Fortunately, we shouldn't be particularly afraid of these giant viruses, as the research suggests. They seem to prefer to live off amoebas - single-celled organisms.
Elise Kjørstad
