Virus.

It occurred to me, just the other day, that I hadn't written any text on viruses; despite the idea that I had a while ago.  But today I shall go into it, and hopefully this will help you ponder on some new ideas for the future. =]

Creepy smiley.  Alright, let's get started.  As many people know, viruses primarily consist of protein (in the form of a capsule containing genetic information), and the genetic information that it carries (whether it be single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA).  This is the absolute basic structure of a virus, neglecting all of the other components that comprise it, such as the tail, and so forth (I'm not writing the anatomy for a virus).  This being said, viruses are know to be strictly parasitic and relying solely on bacteriophages for replication of their genetic information (process: infect bacteriophage with genetic information, replicated in bacteriophage ---> creates more virus, and can either burst [known as virulent] or remain in host for replication and ejection without lyse [known as temperate]). What happens when a virus cannot infect and replicate its genetic materials?  Well, it cannot further "reproduce" to form more viruses.  Remember, viruses are not considered living organisms, but they rely on living organisms for replication.  Now, you may be wondering, to what end am I spewing all of this information for?  Well, viral genetic information is different from genetic information that a specific organism is comprised of.  Imagine comparing a human's DNA with a virus'.  Since both were not of the same origin, you can assume (most of the time) that there will be a significant difference between the two.  In fact, some genetic material transferred by viruses is in the form of short-lived RNA which is reverse transcribed into DNA (AIDS does this), further adding to the point I am trying to make; In most cases, viral DNA is not the same as the DNA you were born with.  There is a way to fix this, although it may seem impossible now, given the technologies we currently have and this type of procedure may lead to the extinction of our species if used improperly, which is through a type of therapy that targets the removal of this foreign DNA.  As you know, DNA undergoes mitosis which is supervised by many proteins that which eventually leads to the formation of identical daughter cells.  What we want to focus on, is the activities in the S-phase of Interphase (notably the period that deals with the replication of DNA).  DNA replication is practically due to DNA polymerase, which matches nucleotides based on the original strand that acts as a template for the new strand DNA polymerase is trying to replicate.  That being said, we now have two strands which are practically identical in genetic sequencing; there are rarely ever any mistakes when replicating DNA aside from mutations, which are rare without external stimuli.  Now what if we were to create, or modify, a protein that "proofreads" DNA, more than it does now, such that DNA that does not sync with genes/exons from the original DNA that we are comprised of are destroyed, it would be a step closer towards getting rid of viruses.  To do so, here is one of my theories: a protein is formed via translation of mRNA, so if we understand how DNA polymerase functions then we can form an "artificial DNA polymerase" to experiment with to see if we can selectively change its behavior.  This newly formed polymerase will proofread the entire strand to see if it is complimentary to one of the 23 chromosomes found in a person's genome, removing nucloeotides that do not match the template and replacing them with what is suppose to be there.  In my mind, I see it as a knotted rope.  You glide your hand (the new DNA polymerase) along the rope until you reach a knot, then you un-knot the rope and continue.  Similarly, this will decrease (if even possible) the rate of mutations, possibly reducing the risk of serious conditions such as mutations of exons which are used to code for proteins.  If not possible to create the new protein, then maybe a therapy that has the 23 chromosome pairs on file and targets cells with mutations, and signals them for apoptosis to reduce mitosis of these particular chromosomes.  But then we would reach the problem where if viral DNA like HIV were to enter the nucleus, but not be a part of the original genome would pose a problem since the therapy would also target these cells.  However, if we were to differentiate between polyploidy (or extra chromosomes that are not suppose to be there), then the therapy could possibly "delete" these strands of DNA such that it reflects the original genome of 23 pairs of chromosomes.

But a decrease in mutations also means that persons will be genetically stagnant.  There will be less of a chance for natural selection to take hold through mutations, so if a certain disease affects one, it may affect all of use which may wipe us out.  That would be a downside to this plan, but another is if the polymerase attacks mitochonrial DNA.  Mitochondrial DNA is inherited maternally, and replicated via binary fission; but it still has its own separate DNA.  If the therapy/polymerase attack these, then it would affect cells by decreasing the amount of energy produced through cellular respiration, and eventually lead to the death of the cell.  So theoretically, this therapy will know the "basic genome of normal cells within a person."  With that, it will be able to isolate the genetic information by viruses and hopefully help people live normal lives.  Sorry, I am really tired right now and don't feel like writing anymore even though I was suppose to further explain my thoughts, and link it to how it would affect cancer but I believe that will have to wait until another time.  But until next time, have fun thinking!

-JuzoInspired