Virus

A Virus is a self-assembled nanoparticle that is an infectious agent.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) have a Viral Genome.
  • It can (typically) replicate inside Living Cells (of an infected organism).
  • It can range from being an RNA Virus to being a DNA Virus.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • an RNA-based enveloped virus, like SARS-CoV-2.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Microorganism, such as a Bacteria.
  • a Fungus.
  • a Yeast.
• See: Antiviral Drug, Rotavirus, Viral Replication, Computer Virus.

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References

2020

• (Wikipedia, 2020) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/virus Retrieved:2020-2-25.
  • A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.

    Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants, and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, about 5,000 virus species have been described in detail, which is a tiny fraction of the types of viruses in the environment. Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most numerous type of biological entity. The study of viruses is known as virology, a sub-speciality of microbiology. While not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles, or virions, consisting of: (i) the genetic material, i.e. long molecules of DNA or RNA that encode the structure of the proteins by which the virus acts; (ii) a protein coat, the capsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic material; and in some cases (iii) an outside envelope of lipids. The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and icosahedral forms to more complex structures. Most virus species have virions too small to be seen with an optical microscope, about one hundredth the size of most bacteria. The origins of viruses in the evolutionary history of life are unclear: some may have evolved from plasmids — pieces of DNA that can move between cells — while others may have evolved from bacteria. In evolution, viruses are an important means of horizontal gene transfer, which increases genetic diversity in a way analogous to sexual reproduction. Viruses are considered by some to be a life form, because they carry genetic material, reproduce, and evolve through natural selection, although they lack key characteristics (such as cell structure) that are generally considered necessary to count as life. Because they possess some but not all such qualities, viruses have been described as "organisms at the edge of life", and as replicators. Viruses spread in many ways. One transmission pathway is through disease-bearing organisms known as vectors: for example, viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that feed on plant sap, such as aphids; and viruses in animals can be carried by blood-sucking insects. Influenza viruses are spread by coughing and sneezing. Norovirus and rotavirus, common causes of viral gastroenteritis, are transmitted by the faecal–oral route, passed by contact and entering the body in food or water. HIV is one of several viruses transmitted through sexual contact and by exposure to infected blood. The variety of host cells that a virus can infect is called its “host range”. This can be narrow, meaning a virus is capable of infecting few species, or broad, meaning it is capable of infecting many.

    Viral infections in animals provoke an immune response that usually eliminates the infecting virus. Immune responses can also be produced by vaccines, which confer an artificially acquired immunity to the specific viral infection. Some viruses, including those that cause AIDS and viral hepatitis, evade these immune responses and result in chronic infections. Several antiviral drugs have been developed.

2020a

• "Monster or Machine? A Profile of the Coronavirus at 6 Months."
  • QUOTE: ... There may be trillions of species of virus in the world. They infect bacteria, mostly, but also abalone, bats, beans, beetles, blackberries, cassavas, cats, dogs, hermit crabs, mosquitoes, potatoes, pangolins, ticks and the Tasmanian devil. They give birds cancer and turn bananas black. Of the trillions, a few hundred thousand kinds of viruses are known, and fewer than 7,000 have names. Only about 250, including SARS-CoV-2, have the mechanics to infect us. ...

2020b

• https://nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/03/science/coronavirus-genome-bad-news-wrapped-in-protein.html
  • QUOTE: ... A virus is “simply a piece of bad news wrapped up in protein,” the biologists Jean and Peter Medawar wrote in 1977. In January, scientists deciphered a piece of very bad news: the genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. ... Viruses must hijack living cells to replicate and spread. ...

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