Darth Revan
Sort of an essay.. it's really short, which is what my science teacher wanted. I didn't know what else to call it.
A virus is a submicroscopic, parasitic organism that lives inside the cells of plants, animals, and bacteria. Oftentimes, they are disease causing. They are made up of essentially just a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. Interestingly, they are considered by some to be nonliving. This is mostly due to the fact that they are unable to reproduce on their own. They need a living host cell to reproduce. To reproduce, a virus enters a cell. Then it releases nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA), which takes control of the cell's protein-making process. The infected cell then starts producing whatever proteins are required for the virus to reproduce. The reason many viruses cause disease is that when a virus releases it's nucleic acid, it changes the chemical makeup of the cell.
Viruses are extremely small--they range in size from .01 to .3 microns in size. A micron is 1/25400 of an inch. The largest virus is only about a tenth of the average bacteria.
The study of viruses began in 1898, when a Dutch botanist realized that something other than bacteria could cause disease. He named this particle virus, which means "poison" in latin.
A virus is a submicroscopic, parasitic organism that lives inside the cells of plants, animals, and bacteria. Oftentimes, they are disease causing. They are made up of essentially just a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. Interestingly, they are considered by some to be nonliving. This is mostly due to the fact that they are unable to reproduce on their own. They need a living host cell to reproduce. To reproduce, a virus enters a cell. Then it releases nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA), which takes control of the cell's protein-making process. The infected cell then starts producing whatever proteins are required for the virus to reproduce. The reason many viruses cause disease is that when a virus releases it's nucleic acid, it changes the chemical makeup of the cell.
Viruses are extremely small--they range in size from .01 to .3 microns in size. A micron is 1/25400 of an inch. The largest virus is only about a tenth of the average bacteria.
The study of viruses began in 1898, when a Dutch botanist realized that something other than bacteria could cause disease. He named this particle virus, which means "poison" in latin.
