What viruses are capable of?

[hallenrm]

I hope evertone is aware of the word virus! It commonly conjures the thought of something that causes trouble. In biology they are the microorganisms that are responsible for many diseases. For example HIV is responsible for AIDS and so are the causes for influenza or polio.

But is that all?

What else can a virus do? Can we one day find that a particular virus can help us live longer? Or a virus that makes people sharp, intelligent, innovative or intutive? No body can deny the possibility, but is someone working to find one.

Any body aware of any news item related to such questions?

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by hallenrm

What else can a virus do? Can we one day find that a particular virus can help us live longer? Or a virus that makes people sharp, intelligent, innovative or intutive? No body can deny the possibility, but is someone working to find one.

Any body aware of any news item related to such questions?

Originally Posted by cio.com

The researchers soon discovered that virus replication could also build nanosize materials for next-generation optical, electronic and magnetic devices. "We wanted to evolve biomolecules to control materials that nature has not evolved interactions with," says Belcher, who's scheduled to join MIT this fall as an associate professor of materials science, engineering and bioengineering.

Full Article: http://www.cio.com/archive/091502/et_development.html

Web Search ResultsResults 1 - 10 of about 1,900,000 for helpful viruses

[hallenrm]

Here's a link to a discussion in the New Scientist magazine on a similar topic, that prompted me to ask the questions i did

http://www.newscientist.com/backpage...mg19225720.500

[Michaelangelica]

i had heard of Virus use in drug delivery and bioengineering.
But to make you live longer?
Drawing a Long Bow?

Some viruses are being used in the fight against cancer. For example, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are targeting brain tumours using a variant of the Newcastle disease virus, which usually afflicts birds. Likewise, genetic engineers use harmless viruses to carry desirable genes into cells. For example, scientists have tried treating familial hypercholesterolaemia, a genetic disease, by infecting liver cells with a virus. The virus inserts a crucial gene that makes the liver cells produce a chemical sponge that controls harmful cholesterol.

I wonder what role they play in Natural Selection if they can ferry around genetic material????

the age of a species can be deduced by its virulence

[hallenrm]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

But to make you live longer?
Drawing a Long Bow?

Sure, as someone had said (iforgot the exact quote)

you cannot go far, if you do not explore the unexplored, and dare to go where noone had dared to go.

[tarak]

Viruses are the edge of living and non living substances.
They are obligate parasites an cannot survive outside their host(may be Human being,monkey,dog,even bacteria).Mostly they are highly specific to a host and that makes them cause specific diseases in specific living beings.
Viruses which parasatize on bacteria are called phages.Viiruses are long nucleic acid molecules(DNA or RNA) encapsulated within another capsule like protein molecule.Some viruses are naked and even donot have these protein coats.
Most of the viruses enter living cells and then come to life. By taking over the cellular machinery of thier host they multiply themselves.Viruses change very fast (lie Influenza virus) by modifying thier protein coat and escape from our immunity sytem which recognizes the protein coat.
Now viruses are certainly harmful in thier role as a intracellular parasite but after understanding thier biology we are using them to our benefit in ingenuous ways.
For example the vaccines we use for immunity are mostly made of benign and attenuated form of viral particles.
Similarly some viruses like NPV which cause diseases in insects are used as a natural/biological pesticide for protection of crops.
Viruses are extensively used in genetic engineering as vectors or vehicles for transfer of desirable genes from one system(Bacteria,Jelly fish,Mouse) to another(Corn,Tomato,Human).I have cited only three well known examples but there may be other benefits if viruses are used cleverly.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by tarak

Viruses are the edge of living and non living substances.
They are obligate parasites an cannot survive outside their host.

Do you mean cannot re-produce ouside of a host? They must survive outside.

[hallenrm]

Yes Michael, that is indeed true, a virus cannot reproduce outside its host, it uses the host's reproduction machinery to reproduce its own kind.

Surprising isn't it. That's the real virtue of discussing things here, you get to know many things you would have never come to know from your peers and friends!

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by hallenrm

What else [than cause disease] can a virus do?

To the best of my knowledge, there are currently only 2 ways to insert genetic information into an animal cell: with a fine needle (microinjection), or with a virus. At present, microinjection is a slow, one-at-a-time process, suitable only for embryonic cells. So viruses are, practically, the only available mechanism for gene therapies in prenatal, juvenile, or adult individuals, which must effect many or nearly all of the hundred trillion (10^14) cells in human body.

Nearly all “wild” viruses encountered now insert genetic material into cells for their own purpose – to make more viruses. The potential of viruses to be used to treat disease through direct manipulation of the cellular machinery – gene therapy - is huge.

[hallenrm]

The potential of viruses to be used to treat disease through direct manipulation of the cellular machinery – gene therapy - is huge.

That is common knowledge, but my purpose of asking this question is what are the other potentials. If virus can be used to modify genes to treat diseases then how about using them against the most prevalent disease, getting old and weak!