DH+virus+homework

7.1 (p.122-124) and Avian Flu p. 125
 * 1) Why are viruses not exactly living or nonliving?
 * 2) Viruses are not exactly living or nonliving because viruses, when needed, appear to be alive. However, viruses are acellular (not composed of cells). By a science definition, everything that has cells, is essentially alive, or was alive at some point (if the object had died).
 * 3) Give some examples of diseases caused by viruses.
 * 4) Some diseases caused by viruses include colds, blu, measles, chicken pox, polio, rabies, AIDS, genital warts and genital herpes.
 * 5) What is the basic structure of a virus? (The two parts and their function)
 * 6) outer capsid: composed of protein subunits
 * 7) nucleic acid core: composed of either DNA or RNA, but never both
 * 8) Why are viruses like microscopic pirates?
 * 9) "Viruses are microscopic pirates, commandeering the metabolic machinery of a host cell." Basically, viruses are like microscopic pirates because they take over other ships, or in the viruses case, other cells.
 * 10) Why are viruses considered parasites?
 * 11) Viruses are considered parasites because they feed off of the cells that they infect.
 * 12) Why are viruses considered OBLIGATE parasites?
 * 13) it can only survive in a particular environment. it has to live as a parasite.
 * 14) Why do viruses ALWAYS cause disease?
 * 15) How do viruses "emerge" and "spread" each year? Give examples.
 * 16) In most cases, viruses emerge and spread by being transported from one location to another. One example of this is the Ebola virus. This virus is spread through the air, and is hard to control.
 * 17) What is a virus vector? Give examples.
 * 18) A virus vector is what the virus travels on/in. One example of this is the mosquito. It is a virus vector because it carries and transfers the west nile virus.
 * 19) What is the relationship of bird flu to birds?
 * 20) When birds are infected with bird flu, there are generally no apparent symptoms.
 * 21) Birds can get bird flu from other birds saliva, feces, or mucus.
 * 22) How does bird flu infect humans?
 * 23) Humans can become infected with bird flu just from being in contact with infected birds.
 * 24) What is a pandemic?
 * 25) A pandemic is an epidemic that happens over an extremely large area.
 * 26) Why is there fear that bird flu could cause a pandemic?
 * 27) Scientists are worried that the "bird flu could merge with a human flu virus. The concern is that a new hybrid virus could form from the merging of the other two. This new virus could be highly infectious, fatal, and easily transmitted from person to person." This would cause the bird flu to become a pandemic because people would be the ones that could give the flu to other people, not birds
 * 28) What action can we take to prevent a bird flu pandemic?
 * 29) Many countries are already trying to get rid of the infected birds by killing them, in hopes that if there are no more infected birds, then there will be no more virus.