Wow! You blew me away with your incredible virus questions!
First, I want to say that I'm SO glad you are all doing such smart things to safe from COVID-19. We want everyone to stay healthy so we can get back to normal as soon as possible!
You blew me away with all the FANTASTIC virus questions you asked yesterday! Today I want to try to answer them. Remember, I am NOT a doctor or a virus researcher, but I will do my best to answer all the questions you asked yesterday. I included sources and links for some of the answers so you can do some more research on your own if you are interested.
Talk to your families about your questions and concerns too. This stuff can seem pretty scary. The whole situation is new to everyone and we are all working together to figure it out and make it through this very strange time. Let us know if there is something you want to talk more about.
- Ms. Dolan :-)
Directions:
Choose AT LEAST FIVE of the questions below. Read the question (Q) asked by another student and my answer.
When you have finished, please send me a message. Let me know three things:
1. What is one new thing you learned about viruses today?
2. How are you feeling about COVID-19?
3. What other questions do you have?
Q: Are viruses simple or kind of smart?
This is a very interesting question! I think the answer is YES! Viruses are very simple. They are just a tiny package of DNA or RNA. They can't even live outside of another cell. Some scientists argue that viruses aren't even really alive.
However, DNA and RNA are basically just holders of information. So viruses have a lot of information in them. Viruses have figured out how to hijack cells. So in a way they are kind of smart.
Q: Can a virus affect a living, rotten tree?
If a tree is rotting then it is definitely infected by something. That something could be a fungus, a bacteria, or a virus. Sometimes a tree is rotting because it is getting eaten (or the insides have already been eaten) by insects. Often when a tree is weak (because it's been infected by insects or hasn't gotten enough water) it is more likely to get infected by a virus. It's the same in humans- if you are healthy from good food, enough sleep, and plenty of water, your body is stronger and your immune system is going to be able to better fight off any germ.
Q: Are there microscopes that can see viruses?
There are some really powerful microscopes out there. Powerful microscopes called scanning electron microscopes or transmission electron microscopes can magnify something 10,000,000x! (The highest magnification on our classroom microscopes is 400x.) These microscopes can definitely see and take pictures of viruses- and they have! That's how we know what viruses look like. If you have some time to kill, google search "scanning electron microscope images". There are some AMAZING pictures!
Source: ThoughtCo, "Introduction to the Electron Microscope"
Q: How did the corona virus start? How do viruses start? How are viruses created? How do some crazy viruses come to be? Why is corona a thing? How did the virus become a thing?
This is a GREAT question and one that scientists have asked for a very long time. The answer is pretty disappointing- no one really knows. Because viruses have DNA or RNA in them, there is a theory that they used to be part of a living cell. Some viruses could start as animal or insect viruses and then somehow mutate or change so they can now affect humans. But in general, the answer that scientists have to this question is, "We really don't know where viruses come from."
Source: Scientific American, "Where Did Viruses Come From?"
Q: When was the first virus?
No one knows that. We know they have been around for a long time. But since there are no fossils of viruses, we just don't know what the first ever virus was. Some scientists think the oldest viruses infected plants or bacteria. Other scientists think the first viruses infected insects hundreds of millions of years ago. I found one article that claimed scientists found a virus inside a 7,000 year old human tooth.
Source: The Atlantic, "The oldest virus ever sequenced comes from a 7,000 year old tooth"
Q: Can it mutate?
This question kind of goes with the one above. To "mutate" means to change. And, yes, viruses can mutate. A lot of times these changes are small and hard or even impossible to notice. Other times viruses can mutate so that they become less contagious or more contagious. It is also possible that many viruses from the past have gone extinct.
Some scientists think that SARS-CoV-2 (our new corona virus) has already mutated since it first infected people in China. Other scientists don't believe that is true. This virus is so new it is not very well studied yet. For this one, we will just have to wait and see.
Source: Live Science, "How Fast Can the Corona Virus Mutate?"
Q: Why do the cells die? Is it natural or do the viruses make them die faster by eating the cells or something like that.
Another awesome question. Yes. It is natural for cells to die. Every living thing is made of cells and one human body is made of trillions of cells. Most cells can't last forever, that's why they have learned how to make copies of themselves to replace cells that are damaged or worn out. Different types of cells have different life spans. For example, some of your brain or nerve cells last your entire life. But red blood cells can usually only live a few months. White blood cells can live for over a year. Skin cells replace themselves every 2-3 weeks. Colon cells (in your large intestine- where your solid waste moves through right before you poop) only last a few days (it's rough in there!).
Living cells are amazing. They usually can fix damage or mistakes. But when they get worn out or if they get infected by something they can't kill, they often self-destruct. Cells infected by a virus very likely die much faster than they normally do- they've been hijacked and the virus wants the cell to die so all the new virus molecules can get out.
Source: Live Science, "Does the Human Body Really Replace Itself Every Seven Years?"
Great question! Viruses usually have a specific type of organism that it infects. This organism is called the host. Plant viruses infect plants, dog viruses infect dogs, human viruses infect humans. It is rare for a virus to jump from one host to another. (Though it can happen- some human viruses started off as animal viruses.)
Human cells have different proteins than mosquito cells, so a virus would recognize that a mosquito cell isn't the right host. When one organism carries a virus that infects a different type of organism, the carrier is called a vector. If a virus killed the vector, it would never get to the host and the virus would probably go extinct.
Q: How fast can you get a virus?
A virus can enter your body as quickly as it finds its way in. Your body's immune system will start fighting it immediately and that takes time. If you catch a virus that makes you sick, you usually have the virus inside you (and are able to spread it to others) before you even start to feel sick. The time it takes for symptoms to show up is called the incubation period. The incubation period is different for different viruses. You usually get sick from a flu virus in just a few days. It might take two weeks for you to get symptoms of something like chicken pox or measles. HIV could take up to a year for symptoms to show up. The incubation period for COVID-19 has been between 2 days and 2 weeks.
Source: Virology Blog, "The incubation period of a viral infection"
Q: How long do viruses usually last?
Most virus infections last from several days to two weeks. It might take the body longer to feel 100% better since it takes a lot of energy for your immune system to fight a disease!
Source: Summit Medical Group, "Viral Sore Throat"
Q: Why does COVID-19 affect the respiratory system?
Every virus has a "target cell." This is the type of cell that the virus is able to infect. Viruses and cells both have proteins called receptors on the outsides of them that look like branches or arms. Those spikes you see on the corona virus are proteins. These spikes or branches help the virus recognize a cell it can infect. Scientists don't know why certain viruses infect certain cells, they just know that they do.
(One guess that I have is that a lot of viruses affect the respiratory system because it is the easiest place to infect- your mouth and nose both go straight to your lungs. Cells in other organs might be harder to infect.)
Source: National Geographic, "Viruses, explained"
Q: Why is COVID-19 affecting people that are older?
According to the CDC, older adults and people who have other medical conditions like lung disease, heart conditions, diabetes, or severe obesity are at risk of getting more seriously sick from COVID-19. This is because the immune systems of people in these groups are not always strong enough to fight the virus. Younger, healthy people tend to have stronger immune systems. That is not always the case though. Some older people have gotten COVID-19 and been ok and some young people have gotten really sick. We never know for sure how our bodies will react.
Q: What caused the virus to move to different countries so quickly?
We live in a culture where a lot of people travel all over the world every day for work or for fun. This mixture was what caused it to spread so fast. People got sick and didn't know they were sick. They traveled and infected other people. Those people traveled and infected others. It took just a few months for it to spread to every continent except Antarctica.
This novel corona virus is really contagious plus people can be infected for up to two weeks before feeling sick. Some people have been infected and not had symptoms at all so it has been very difficult to identify every person that is infected. And not everyone took the virus seriously when it was first discovered.
TED-Ed: How Pandemics Spread
Q: How long does it take to find a cure? Can corona virus be cured completely? Is there a cure for COVID-19? If there is no cure for viral diseases does that mean there is no cure for COVID-19?
Remember, there is no real "cure" for any virus. You body has to fight it off. Some medicines that we have can help make people feel better, but people sick with COVID-19 have to just wait until their body finishes fighting the virus. In hospitals, doctors can give other medicines that were made to fight other viruses. Some of them seem to work by slowing down the virus's ability to reproduce or making the person feel better. Doctors and scientists are also working really hard on creating a vaccine and some labs are even at the point of testing their vaccine on mice. But before doctors can give any vaccine, it needs to be tested A LOT to make sure that it's safe. So it will probably be several months before a vaccine is ready for us all to get.
Source: Live Science, "Is there a cure for the new corona virus?"
Hopefully! The news has reported that some doctors and scientists are collecting blood from patients who have gotten sick with COVID-19 and have already gotten better. Scientists want to collect their "antibodies" which is what the immune system makes to fight specific diseases. They think that the COVID-19 antibodies in the blood of recovered patients could be used to treat the disease or make a vaccine.
Source: CBS News, "Antibodies from the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients may be key to fighting corona virus"
Good question! I don't know. I have heard a lot of different information like certain types of medicine will actually make COVID-19 worse. I have heard lots of different ideas of what symptoms could be. Remember, everything about COVID-19 is new and you should be careful with any information you get until it is verified. The CDC, which is the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a good source for reliable information. If you hear something and you aren't sure if it's true or not, ask someone you trust like your parents, a doctor, or a teacher. (You can always ask me and I can help you find any answers that I don't know!)
This is a tough one to answer. There are a lot of really terrible diseases caused by viruses. Many viruses are more deadly than this corona virus. Thousands of people around the world have died from COVID-19, but A LOT more people have gotten sick and then gotten better.
History is filled with stories of awful diseases, things called "The Black Death" and "The Spanish Flu." They are all pretty terrible, but it is hard to say what makes something the worst.
Q: When do you think COVID-19 will be over? How long do you think we'll be in quarantine for? What is the estimated time it will take for the virus to die out/ go away? When will it end?
When is this going to be over? How long is the COVID-19 going to last?
This was a very popular question. I wish I had an answer or I wish I had a better answer. No one knows for sure, but experts don't think this is going to end any time soon. It will depend on a couple of things- how fast a vaccine can be developed, how long it takes a lot of the population to get sick and then get better, or if the virus dies out on its own. Some scientists think we will have to be "social distancing" for 1-3 months. Other scientists think it could be longer, like a year or more. Honestly, this is new for everyone so no one knows. But really smart and creative scientists all over the world are working on a way to end this as soon as possible.
It the meantime, it is REALLY important for us to all stay home and keep "social distancing." That will slow down how fast the virus spreads and will make sure there are enough doctors and hospitals to take care of the really sick people.
Source: Science News, "When will the corona virus pandemic and social distancing end?"
I have wondered that myself. I think the toilet paper buying happened because people were worried about being trapped at home for a long time and running out. Sometimes when people get scared they just buy lots of things to "stock up."
No comments:
Post a Comment