At the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic is a coated ball of genetic code with protein spikes that look like a crown. There is no forethought of action, no malice. In fact, depending on your point of view, it might not qualify as life.
It's called SARS-CoV-2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronavVirus-2, a sister strain of the virus that caused the original SARS outbreak in the early 2000s.
And, yes, washing your hands is a very good way to deactivate it, said Michael Conway, an molecular virologist and associate professor of microbiology with CMU's School of Medicine. Not kill it, because whether it's alive is an open question.
Viruses don't grow or consume things for energy, he said, both of which are two components of living things. A bacteria consumes things -- sugar, proteins, fats -- which is a primary difference between the two different kinds of microorganisms.
Soap, bleach or really any detergent helps dissolve a layer of fat that surrounds the genetic code, which plays a critical role in using a host cell to reproduce more virus particles. That fat protects the virus' body itself, he said. Without it, the virus just kind of shuts down.
The genetic material inside the virus comes as both DNA and RNA. The primary difference between the two is in the structure. DNA looks like a twisting ladder called a double helix. RNA is a single strand. SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, sharing a family with viruses that cause diseases like Ebola and polio.
It's comes from a large group of RNA viruses called coronaviruses, because the first time someone looked at one through a powerful microscope, the now-famous protein spikes on the surface looked like a crown, Conway said. Corona is Latin for crown.
When the virus gets into your body, the spikes of that crown help the virus stick to a host cell. Once attached, the cell covers the virus, trapping it. If this is left unchanged, the virus would be deactivated.
But, the virus can poke a hole in the cell wall, inserting the genetic material into the space between the cell's machinery. The RNA hijacks the cell and converts the genetic material into proteins, which become new particles of virus.
It's currently unknown how the new virus particles escape the host cell, Conway said. Either they poke a hole and squirt out, or the new viruses rupture the host cell, killing it.
The body itself has a complex way to fight off this infection.
Where the infection lands, it's possible that local cells recognize that something is wrong and communicate with each other to just shut the infection down.
If that doesn't work, he said, the body's adaptive immune system is activated. That create proteins specifically tailored to deactivate a specific virus.
This is available to all readers in the interest of public safety. Please consider supporting local news; subscribe for only 99 for the first month.
RNA viruses normally have a high mutation rate, Conway said, which is one reason why the common cold is so hard to stamp out. Viruses that mutate look different to the body.
So far, however, SARS-CoV-2 appears to have a low mutation rate, which provides hope in developing an effective long-term solution.
Coronaviruses aren't new things to humanity, he said. SARS-CoV-2 is new, which is why it's called a novel coronavirus.
Like its relatives, the viruses that cause SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, it originated in bats. SARS jumped to people using civets -- a raccoonlike cat found in Southeast Asia -- and MERS jumped to people from bats by way of camels.
That's also not a new phenomenon.
"In my opinion, we should have been prepared for this," Conway said.
READ MORE:
The one thing you can count on in life is things are gonna change.
Michiganders getting tested and treated for COVID-19 will not have to worry about paying for those services.
There are currently 89 people being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals within the healthcare coalition to which Isabella and Clare, plus Montca
When COVID-19 broke out in Michigan last month, most spring events promptly closed. That meant the cancellation of most of Pete Lieber's cater
Isabella County's confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by another six, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced as part
Read more:
The virus behind the pandemic: How does it work ... and is it life? - The Morning Sun
Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith
