Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

ck4829

(34,976 posts)
Mon Mar 23, 2020, 10:22 AM Mar 2020

Something tells me people calling it a "Chinese virus" don't know anything about viruses

If I remember my biology right, a virus...

* Is not really a lifeform
* Hijacks the functions of plant, animal, and bacteria cells they infect to make more viruses
* Hijacks the cells in a way so they don't just explode into new viruses but are gradually depleted and are diverted from the things they normally do
* Injects material into the cell, it changes the cell by injecting DNA and RNA into the cell. And that's pretty much what a virus is, it's DNA (or RNA) covered by a shield of proteins.

In layman's terms and a way to see it through the lens of pop culture is that viruses, the crystal-shaped structures that we all know, is sort of like the face-hugger in terms of Aliens, an intermediary phase at most. A virus does the real work changing your DNA and altering your cells to make more of it.

So... for all those white nationalists who want to get coronavirus and then spread it to "non-white" people, for all those "unheard Americans" who will never shut up and listen, and for that President calling it a "Chinese virus"; if a "Chinese" virus is changing your DNA and your cells, what's that make you?


9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Something tells me people calling it a "Chinese virus" don't know anything about viruses (Original Post) ck4829 Mar 2020 OP
If you put a stethoscope up against an infected person's lungs... hangaleft Mar 2020 #1
LOL! n/t EndlessWire Mar 2020 #8
I've always thought viruses were neat. Phoenix61 Mar 2020 #2
"I've always wondered how they evolved" jberryhill Mar 2020 #3
Me too. They probably have a hand in *creating* advanced life ck4829 Mar 2020 #4
It already has a name nykym Mar 2020 #5
You'll know you're talking to a rumper. dreamland Mar 2020 #6
K&R uponit7771 Mar 2020 #7
Your Instincts Are Perfect ProfessorGAC Mar 2020 #9
 

hangaleft

(649 posts)
1. If you put a stethoscope up against an infected person's lungs...
Mon Mar 23, 2020, 10:26 AM
Mar 2020

...you will hear Mandarin being spoken.

Phoenix61

(16,952 posts)
2. I've always thought viruses were neat.
Mon Mar 23, 2020, 10:28 AM
Mar 2020

They are the original gene splicers. Not really alive but can be quite deadly. I’ve always wondered how they evolved.

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
3. "I've always wondered how they evolved"
Mon Mar 23, 2020, 10:39 AM
Mar 2020

As a non-reproductive way for genetic material to be shared across species, they have been part of the process.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160713100911.htm

Viruses hijack nearly every function of a host organism's cells in order to replicate and spread, so it makes sense that they would drive the evolution of the cellular machinery to a greater extent than other evolutionary pressures such as predation or environmental conditions. The study sheds light on some longstanding biological mysteries, such as why closely-related species have evolved different machinery to perform identical cellular functions, like DNA replication or the production of membranes.

ck4829

(34,976 posts)
4. Me too. They probably have a hand in *creating* advanced life
Mon Mar 23, 2020, 10:48 AM
Mar 2020

Like in the case of the flagellum where simple organisms fused to make a more advanced one.

Bacteria may have picked up and fused viruses to make the cell nucleus which gave eukaryote cells (Everything not bacteria... us included) the ability to regulate gene expression and protect the genetic material from things which could harm it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_eukaryogenesis

I remember also reading somewhere that the very neurotransmitters in animal brains and nervous systems which allows everything from movement to cognition and perception does look like one cell shooting a virus capsule at another. Perhaps there could be a link?

Something similar to it:
https://health-innovations.org/2018/01/19/previously-unknown-method-of-neurotransmission-identified/

Viruses evolved because we evolved and if there were no viruses then the Earth would be nothing but the simplest of bacteria. So we have to take the good with the bad. All in all it is pretty neat.


Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Something tells me people...