The most popular facts about viruses

Most people do not distinguish between viruses, bacteria and protozoa single-celled organisms. Meanwhile, all these creatures not only differ significantly in size, but also belong to completely different biological types.

So, ten interesting, scientifically grounded facts about viruses:

1. Viruses are not alive in the literal sense of the word. Outside the host organism, they are not capable of reproduction and are just a DNA molecule surrounded by a protein membrane. Active it becomes only when it enters another living organism. There, he transmits his cellular program to the host cells, causing their complete transformation and converting into their own copies.
2. Some viruses are so small that they can insert their DNA into bacteria through their microscopic hairs, with which they move.
3. Viruses can infect unicellular organisms, bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and even other viruses-that is, all types of living beings that inhabit the planet Earth.
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4. There are some useless entities in human cells, as well as in animal cells. Scientists believe that these are viruses that have taken root in us as a result of evolution.
5. In the human genome, there are viral fragments that are involved in the development of cancer in humans.
6. Viruses are not only harmful. During pregnancy, some of the proteins encoded by the viral gene correct the mother's immune system so that it does not reject the embryo during its development.
7. In the century before last, a catastrophic increase in the population of rabbits occurred in Australia, leading to the destruction of many plant species on a vast territory of fertile land. Rabbits tried to fight for many decades, but to no avail. In the middle of the 20th century, rabbits decided to fight using the myxomatosis virus, which led to a fivefold reduction in the number of animals.
8. Viruses exist in all ecosystems, and represent the most numerous biological form on the planet.
9. They are not capable of protein synthesis, which distinguishes them from all other living organisms. For this process they are too small.
10. Their biological origin on earth is still unclear. To trace the history of their development on the planet is not possible, because the viruses do not leave behind any fossil tracks that could be used to prove a particular scientific theory.