Herpes simplex virus

The biological foundation of living organisms, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), carries the genetic information for the structure, growth, and reproduction of all known life. Even before the discovery of DNA, or its purpose for that matter, humankind has had influence over the genomes of other forms of life through selective reproduction. Without the knowledge of genetics it was discovered that by breeding the two fluffiest sheep of a flock, fluffier sheep would be produced. As with plants, by…

Shingles, or Herpes zoster, is a reactivation of the Varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox in children. Shingles appear on the body as red, hive-like clusters that usually cause very intense pain and an overall feeling of being unwell. Flu-like symptoms (minus the fever), itching, tingling, and extreme pain at the site of the rash, are the most common signs of the virus. Shingles are sometimes called herpes zoster. This is very different to genital herpes, which…

dormant until another time. A common example of this type of virus is the Varicella Zoster virus. This is the virus that causes chicken pox in children and young adults, but is also the culprit for shingles in elder adults. Varicella Virus has the ability to “hide out” from the body’s immune system until the time is right to strike. The Varicella Zoster Virus is a part of the Herpesvirdae family[1]. Characteristics of this class of virus are a primary infection…

Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) belongs to the Old World arenavirus family of enveloped viruses (Buchmeier et al., 2007). LCMV in particular has served as model organism from many significant studies in the field of immunology such as the Nobel Prize winning study of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) by Zinkernagel and Doherty (1975). LCMV’s natural reservoirs are the common household rodents (Traub, 1936). Household mice have shown to attain persistent asymptomatic LCMV…

In recent years the field of virology has seen substantial growth as virus have now become a more widely researched subject. It was not too long ago relatively speaking that viruses were more or less an unknown entity, as many facts about viruses were unknown to the days researchers. Now however much more is known about what viruses are and how they work; more importantly it is known that viral agents are one of the leading causes of disease. Once it was established that they did in fact…

As explained by the New World Encyclopedia, the lytic cycle is the life cycle of a virus in which “the virus that has entered a cell takes over the cell 's replication mechanism, makes viral DNA and viral proteins, and then lyses (breaks open) the cell, allowing the newly produced viruses to leave the now disintegrated host cell to infect other…

"We used to think that our fate was in our stars, but now we know that, in large measure, our fate is in our genes, " - James Watson. (Rocholl, 1996) Gene Therapy is the key to unlocking our fate that is deeply hidden within our genes. As viruses get stronger and new diseases are discovered, we need one treatment that can cure all of that. Scientists hope that this treatment will be Gene Therapy. It’s a brilliant idea, however there are many risks, regulations and ethical issues involved. It’s…

been concerned with bacteria resistance to antibiotics”. With this evidence, it is clear that bacteria are evolving, and evolution exists on some scale. This is the reason there is a new flu vaccine every year; it is because different strains of the virus are becoming more prevalent and a new vaccine is needed to prevent it from infecting its host. Evolution is supported by examples such as this because it is obvious populations of bacteria are evolving, becoming resistant to new vaccines, and…

Parasitism is one of several classes of symbiosis. A parasitic relationship is a non- mutual relationship between two organisms. One organism, the parasite, lives off another organism, the host. The parasite typically attacks one host and does not kill the host. However, a parasitoid is another parasitic relationship where there is one host and the host is always killed. Sacculina is a genus of parasitic rhizocephalan barnacles that infect and castrate crabs. This genus was first described by…

and shouldn't you do now? First of all, you need to know that a cold sore is caused by the herpes virus and that there's fluid in the blisters. A cold sore can be annoying and painful, but is hardly ever harmful. The herpes virus will remain forever in your body though, and can get reactivated at a later time. That's why you can get a cold sore over and over again. There isn't any treatment to get the virus out of your body. So, what are the do's and don'ts when you've got a cold sore? - Don't…