L18-3/02-Living Parasites: viruses, prions, and viroids

Why are viruses, prions and

viroids not thought to be

alive?

a. not cellular b. cant reproduce themselves c. don’t grow d. no metabolism

Unlike cellular organisms,

genetic material in viruses

are:

contain either rna or dna

In what kingdom are viruses

classified?

They arent classified in a kingdom because they arent thought to be alive

Where do new human viral

diseases come from?

they are poorly adapted to host, ex. animal virus infcts a human host for first time

With respect to the number of

death, what was the most

serious viral disease

documented?

HIV & AIDS

HIV does not kill people that

have been infected. They die

because:

Their immune system is damages allowing diseases to occur that normally are stopped by immune system

What is the cause of Mad Cow

Disease?

prions: conversion of normal proteins to misshapen protein/infectious proteins which cause holes in the brain

Viroids are known to only

cause disease in:

plants