Introduction to Molecular Virology: Part I

DrakeDrake Acolyte
edited January 2012 in Tech & Games
Why are viruses important?
- Viruses cause disease (hemorrhagic fever, immunodeficiency, cancer, dementia, organ failure, etc.)
- Viruses can be used to treat disease (gene therapy, tumor-killing oncolytic viruses, bacterophage therapy for bacterial infection, etc.)
- Viruses can be used to control of pests (insects, rabbits, etc.)
- Viruses can be used for biotechnology applications (protein expression, phage-display libraries, induced pluripotent stem cells, etc.)

Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the world and are dependent upon their hosts for resources and often
take advantage of the host's biological machinery to replicate (viruses do not reproduce).

Viruses infect every known type of life - the three domains of life: Bacteria (there are more cells of these on/in your
body than your own cells), Eukaryota (that's us), and Archaea (A lot like bacteria, but are actually closer relatives
to us) are all infected by viruses.

There are even small viruses (Sputnik virophage - about 50nm) that "infect" very large viruses (Mamavirus - about
400nm) at the same time the large viruses are infecting a larger cell (an amoebae).

Although viruses are not classified as life, they are still subject to the principles of natural selection and have
co-evolved with their hosts. That means that viruses are selected for being the best at spreading through their host
population (this does not mean that they will be the best at killing their host).

There is some disagreement on how to define viruses, but the formal definition I would give is: A biological entity
that is dependent upon its host to replicate and requires the assembly/disassembly of capsid proteins to produce
replication-competent derivatives of itself.



TL/DR: Viruses are small and usually much simpler than cellular life. All viruses need a host to infect in order to
replicate and pass its genes to future generations. Due to natural selection, viruses become optimized for being able
to spread through its host population.



If this topic interests you consider posting in the Totse Science Journal Club thread: http://www.totseans.com/bbs/threads/21785-Totse-Science-Journal-Club

Comments

  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    Interesting and informative. A bit outside of my circle of knowledge/interest but a good thread nonetheless. Maybe you know the answer to this. I recall hearing/reading somewhere that a viruses can have a crystalline structure. Is this true and if so what would the significance of the be?
  • DrakeDrake Acolyte
    edited January 2012
    I've been a little busy, so this shorter answer will have to do or I might not get around to keeping these threads alive.

    Viruses encode and produce structural proteins called caspids that are able to self-assemble into a regular or semi-regluar structure (icosahedrons) in order to make a shell for the viral genome and other biological molecules (derived from both the host and the virus). These caspids are usually (from memory, so don't take this as gospel) formed by 1-3 different proteins, so part of what makes the structure regular is that it is made up of a small number of subunits. Other viruses have caspids that assemble around their genome (more closely) and form a helical structure. Because of this regular structure, viruses without envelopes (lipid membranes with viral and host protein) can stack and form crystals. This is how some viruses can be crystallized (Tobaccco mosaic virus - the first identified this way. The biological significance of this (as far as I know for one example) is the formation of inclusion bodies inside the cell that make the Ebolavirus (and probably other mononegavirales) genome harder to detect by the cell.
  • GoingNowhereGoingNowhere Global Moderator
    edited January 2012
    Got to say mate, you sound like you know a heck of a lot. Wish I had your knowledge!! :)
  • RemadERemadE Global Moderator
    edited January 2012
    Sounds pretty damn relevant to me. Liking it :thumbsup:
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    @Drake: I am just a layman when it comes to biology but if I understand the gist of what you are saying in your last post some viruses can be crystalline in nature. If this is the case could not these types of viruses be defeated with the correct length of sound wave which would disrupt their crystalline structure not unlike what is done with sound and kidney stones these days?
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    Are we talking Rife here?
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    chippy wrote: »
    Are we talking Rife here?

    Wow, you know about him? It is a shame how he was discredited and run down by his peers.
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    I know ALL about him. The machines are still in operation and lives are being saved all over the world despite the health corporations trying to ban them. In fact I know a guy on another forum in America who bought a machine and travels hundreds of miles a month, treating and curing people with cancer for free. He just asks for donations to pay his travel costs.
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    chippy wrote: »
    I know ALL about him. The machines are still in operation and lives are being saved all over the world despite the health corporations trying to ban them. In fact I know a guy on another forum in America who bought a machine and travels hundreds of miles a month, treating and curing people with cancer for free. He just asks for donations to pay his travel costs.

    Robin, AKA Lady Morgana from the Temple of the Inner Circle had one of his machines and used it on a temple member who had HIV (not full blown AIDS but HIV positive). After just 60 days of bi-weekly treatments this person no longer tested HIV positive. So either one of three things happened. The first diagnosis was flawed, the second diagnosis was flawed, or the machine worked.
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    I know which one I'd believe. I've heard of several cases where HIV was cured.
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    Although misdiagnosis is all too common a thing like HIV positive is pretty hard to screw up. Also it is important to mention that this person was diagnosed about 15 or so years ago and is HIV free to this day.
  • DrakeDrake Acolyte
    edited January 2012
    Got to say mate, you sound like you know a heck of a lot. Wish I had your knowledge!! :)
    I'll try to work on the next part, so stick around and ask questions.

    @Drake: I am just a layman when it comes to biology but if I understand the gist of what you are saying in your last post some viruses can be crystalline in nature. If this is the case could not these types of viruses be defeated with the correct length of sound wave which would disrupt their crystalline structure not unlike what is done with sound and kidney stones these days?

    First, I'll say that if it is possible to disrupt viral structure with sound then the most promising application that I see is for sanitisation of surfaces (lots of public health relevance).

    I don't think I know enough to be able to answer the question fully (especially since there isn't that much known about how sound affects biological processes at the molecular level), but I'm going to try to break it down and explain some of my reasoning:

    One of the hardest parts of this type of therapy would be aiming at the correct place (I don't think anyone has done in vivo imaging of disease-causing viruses in humans).

    If the therapy can be sequence-specific, then it would only be effective against certain variants of the capsid proteins and viruses containing mutant proteins would be selected for and expand.

    If the therapy is size-specific, then there would be off-target disruption of essential host proteins of the same size and likely cause death of some surrounding tissue.

    If the therapy targets assembled capsids and causes their dis-assembly (possibly without any host side-effects, since the structures formed are unique to the host), then there is a possibility that actively replicating viruses could be stopped. The therapy would probably have to target the entire body (since it would be too difficult to know where all the virus is) and be constant for a long time (caspid proteins can re-assemble very quickly and the assembled capsids aren't rigid - they "breathe" in the assembled form) - probably 1-3 days (long enough for infected cells to die, since they would be constantly be producing new viruses). This treatment, at its best, would probably be ineffective at curing viruses that can be latent (viruses that can be dormant for a while and later be active again), such as retroviruses (HIV) and herpesviruses (HSV), or are slow at killing cells (rabies virus).



    I didn't think of it before, but baculovirus (a very lethal type of virus for insects) forms occlusion bodies and are probably a lot better of an example of crystal-like structures for viruses. IIRC the formation of these occlusion bodies allow long-term "survival" of viruses on the outside of plants - allowing them to be ingested by insects feeding on the leaves.
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    Now were in the realms of physics. Resonant frequencies and harmonic's. And more importantly the realms of paradigm shifts in the scientific community. There are in existence photographs of bacteria and protoplasms that were taken and documented long before the electron microscope was in existence. Rife's optical microscope is a fact. There are films of Blepharisma Organisms and other viruses being ruptured using resonant frequencies in vitro.



    However none of this proof of concept is any use to us till the paradigm shift occurs. Too many research facilities will overnight lose funding. Too many scientists will find their avenue of research redundant. Too many drug companies will find their profits drop to zero as the drugs they research and produce become redundant. Too many people and companies with real money invested in the status quo of health care have a vested interest in burying this technology for it to surface in any usable form for a good many years yet. Think of the money invested in health insurance, the number of jobs that would disappear in the medical drug industry, the hospital wards that would close. The impact on the world's economy would be huge.

    Quick change of focus here on the same subject.
    I spent a good few years as a professional audio engineer for a company called Kenmar Leisure. It was my job to design, build and oversee the instalation of high end sound systems in pubs, clubs and event locations. This involved working with powerful audio amplifiers and the control and distribution of sound waves. I've mentioned this briefly on other threads where we have discussed sound proofing a couple of times. One thing I've not mentioned before however is some of the legal requirements of audio in public places. I had to work closely with technicians from the health and safety commission where the levels of audio reached dangerous levels. Anything reaching a kilowatt or above, which in a club or event location was easily done, we had to conform to strict health and safety regulations. Not only was the decibel level monitored to make sure it was within safe limits so as not to damage peoples hearing, but the frequency range was also carefully monitored. Various high pass filters had to be employed to ensure that no high power sound waves below 10 hertz were produced. A quick google search will verify that around 7 hertz with sufficient power will rupture internal organs. They don't need to be rigid or crystalline. During WWII experiments were carried out to produce a sound weapon that would kill troops with no damage to buildings or machines. The experiments were abandoned as too dangerous. These low frequencies are not directional as high frequencies are. At the power they were producing them there was no safe zone for the operators. Many scientists and workers were killed in these experiments, so they were abandoned.

    Not sure what to add now, other than YES you can kill viruses and bacteria with the application of resonant frequencies or their harmonics, No we won't see it's application till the medical establishment makes a massive paradigm shift to allow it. And if anyone has any questions I am more than willing to answer what I can.
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    You post pretty much describes exactly why Rife was discredited so unfairly.
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    Substitute power companies for health care and the car industry for the drug companies, Still include the oil industry and the insurance companies, and you have the reason that Nicola Tesla received the same treatment.

    Cheap effective health care with no side effects and free power, both buried by corporate avarice in the dollar.

    Why you ask haven't other people come along and continued their work?
    Simple answer, they have. And suffered the same if not worse fate.
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    ..."if not worse." The scary part is how true that is.
  • chippychippy <b style="color:pink;">Global Moderator</b>
    edited January 2012
    I think this is one of the main reasons that the powers that be want to limit the free exchange of information on the internet. As it stands, it's the most dangerous tool for bringing the oligarchy down. People are learning the truth. If the printing press wasn't invented then the cultural and industrial revolutions wouldn't have taken place. The introduction of the printing press also changed the way the church operated. For the first time many people could read the bible by theirself, in their native language. This meant a dramatic downturn in the numbers of people that went to church. Also people began to question the authority of the church, as there was nothing in the bible about having to pay the church taxes, which was common at that time.Also the spread of words and other people's idea began to spread a lot faster after the invention of the printing press. Also more people could read the availability of books and documents. It marked Western culture's first viable method of disseminating ideas and information from a single source to a large and far-ranging audience.

    The church was unsuccessful in stopping the printing presses. Let's hope the internet enjoys a similar success.
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited January 2012
    If there is a hole it will be found...
  • DrakeDrake Acolyte
    edited January 2012
    Without knowing the specifics, I think I can take your word (for the sake of this discussion) for the part about destroying viruses with sound.

    At the risk of sounding stupid (my memory of physics is lacking): objects resonate based on their size (or the size of the things that make them up) and objects of similar size/make-up will resonate at the same frequency. If this is true, then the problems mentioned in my previous post still are relevant when using this method as a treatment on patients. Additionally, the problems you mentioned (rupturing organs and the difficulty of aiming) would have to be resolved before this would be a viable treatment.


    chippy wrote: »
    Too many scientists will find their avenue of research redundant.

    Trust me - for many scientists, redundant research is all they ever do. Many people in basic science do not care about "real world" applications - they just like solving problems. I just wanted to mention this since a lot of people believe that scientists are always pushing agendas and acting as a conspiracy to destroy religion/business/Earth.
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