2. Viruses are so small, they make bacteria look big!
What is it??
A virus is basically a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) encased in a tough outer covering of protein
Viruses ≠ Bacteria
Viruses are so small, they make bacteria look big!

3. NOT Living! Viruses DO NOT:
Reproduce
Use energy
Grow
Have cell parts like organelles or cytoplasm
Have cells
Therefore NOT LIVING  No Classification with the living organisms

4. What do they look like??

5. Types of Viruses Some human viral diseases include: HIVAIDS
Chicken pox
Colds
Cold sores
Influenza (flu)
Ebola
Measles
Mumps
Polio
Rabies
Smallpox
Warts

6. What are they made of??

7. What do they do??
Viruses may infect eukaryotic cells like ours or they could infect a bacteria!
First they attach to the host cell
Then they inject their little piece of nucleic acid into the cell
That nucleic hijacks the cell’s DNA and turns it into a virus factory making only virus parts!

8. Infected…
The result…
Cells fill up with viral pieces and EXPLODE  spreading the viruses
Sometimes infection will happen immediately
Some stay latent or dormant for years

9. Defensive/preventative
Offensive & Defense
Defensive/preventative
Offensive
Vaccine – a weakened form of the virus
Vaccination – giving vulnerable animals a vaccine to alert the immune system to the structure of the pathogen
Good hygiene – practicing constant cleaning
People
Food
Antibodies – proteins that attach to virus and alert WBCs to eat it!
Interferon – chemical interferes with the manufacture of virus parts in an infected cell and non-infected cell
Immune Response – bodies police force

10. Additional Questions about Viruses?