10. The virus gave us complex life
The cell nucleus is considered to be the most significant evolutionary accomplishment (http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5685/766). DNA is packed and covered in a protein coating in the nucleus of a cell and in a virus. The nucleus can move between cells in some relatively simple organisms, like red algae, in a way that indicates the mechanisms of viral infection. While viruses and cell nuclei use linear packages for their DNA, bacteria store their DNA in circular chromosomes. The data is very suggestive but not yet conclusive. A bacterium would have outcompeted anything nearby if an opportunistic virus had ever infected it and seized control of it rather than killing it.
9. The best one comes from Bradford
That’s not a very logical explanation of why we should value the virus, I admit. But it’s poetic that the greatest advancement in virology came from a monster discovered in what might be England’s least glamorous town, while gene pioneer Craig Venter was scouring the exotic Sargasso seas for new viruses. Mimivirus was found in a hospital cooling tower’s water in 1991 while Bradford’s public health officials were looking for the cause of an especially nasty pneumonia outbreak. Mimivirus was initially mistaken for a bacteria by microbiologists due to its enormous size (30 times that of the cold virus). Additionally, it has a lot more DNA than is typically associated with viruses.
Due to its near invulnerability, the mimivirus is especially terrifying. However, mimivirus illness can be avoided. Working with the virus unintentionally led to a technician in a hospital in Marseille becoming affected. It caused a minor case of asthma, and he is now doing much better.
8. Virtually all of our DNA is derived from viruses.
Your DNA contains about 8% clearly viral components. Between 40 and 50 percent of our genes appear to be suspiciously virus-like, and the majority of the remaining genes act and replicate similarly to viral genes. It appears that in many ways, we are the result of infectious activity. What do you believe to be? There are worse places to search for ancestors than the frequently mocked virus.
7. They have unknown potential
The team led by human genome pioneer Craig Venter discovered more than 1800 novel viral species with more than 1.2 million novel genes when they collected samples from the Sargasso Sea. Millions of previously unseen viruses could be found in every 200-liter container.But even that is insignificant when you consider that a millilitre of German Lake Plussee water was discovered to contain 254 million virus particles. According to projections, the biosphere contains more bacteria-killing viruses than all other types of life combined. This could be quite helpful in the healthcare industry.
6. They confuse researchers (are they still living or not?
Nobody can concur on whether or not viruses and chemical parasites on biology should be regarded as components of biology. Although they have genetic material, they need other animals to metabolise it. More genetic material is present in many viruses than in some bacteria, which is problematic because bacteria are unquestionably a component of the living world. So, based on your definition of life—and there are many to choose from—viruses may be considered to be a component of the biosphere or merely a byproduct of chemistry.
5. They haven’t always been parasites
As more viruses are found, researchers are examining the DNA contained in their protein crystal centres and discovering that viruses may have once existed independently. Three branches are meant to branch off the trunk of the tree of life. The complex and large cells of the eukaryotes, which are the most advanced organisms, housed a nucleus that stored inheritable information. The cells of the bacterium lack a nucleus. Although they resemble bacteria in some ways, archaeans have their own genetic lineage and are frequently found in harsh environments like hot springs. The parasitism may have developed later because genetic analyses of viruses indicate they evolved before this separation.
4. They are the driver behind evolution
The diversity required for evolution by natural selection has been produced by viruses due to the way they clip and paste DNA (http://cvr.bio.uci.edu/learn.html). Many viruses integrate themselves into the host’s genome and only reproduce when the cell divides, as opposed to simply replicating at will and destroying their hosts. Every living thing has viral DNA, which has been discovered through genetic analysis; occasionally, this information is valuable and encodes something the cell can utilise. In this case, viral DNA has the potential to drastically change an organism’s behaviour and drive it in new evolutionary directions.
3. They can beat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Since the early 20th century, doctors have been aware that viruses can be used to eradicate germs. For instance, Félix d’Hérelle, a Canadian microbiologist, treated infants for dysentery with a virus-containing solution overnight in 1917. But in the era of medicines, viruses were relegated to the background. The emergence of antibiotic tolerance has caused viruses to resurface. Researchers at University College London have used bacterium-eating viruses to treat ear infections that are especially difficult to treat, for example. It is unclear at this time whether bacteria can develop virus attack resilience.
2. They can deliver gene therapy
Four individuals with hereditary blindness have had their genes introduced into their eyes using viruses as carriers. Sight was significantly improved as a consequence. The idea is to use viruses with disabilities to cure a variety of genetic diseases. Additionally, viruses are being used to spread genetic material that could help treat AIDS.
1. Viruses might cure cancer
Reovirus, which is generally safe for people, is being tested as a “booster” for anti-cancer medications. It infects cancer cells with a defective Ras gene in order to function. Runaway cell development is brought on by the mutated Ras, which also leaves the cells open to virus attack. Reovirus destroys these cells, according to studies, which aids the effectiveness of anti-cancer medications.
A virus that sporadically causes leukemia, according to research conducted in a Nagasaki hospital, appears to reduce the risk of gastric cancer by one-third.