Lecture Nine Test Five

97. The influenza virus is the most lethal virus in human history. It is an animal-host RNA virus that is distinguished by its protein capsids. _______ is in mammals and birds while __________ and ___________ are only found within humans.

97. The influenza virus is the most lethal virus in human history. It is an animal-host RNA virus that is distinguished by its protein capsids. _______ is in mammals and birds while __________ and ___________ are only found within humans.

Influenza A

Influenza B & C

98. Different strains of the influenza virus differ in their protein spikes. What are the functions of these spikes called Hemagglutinin (H) and Neuraminidase (N)?

Hemagglutinin (H) - Aids virus in gaining access to the cell interior to replicate

Neurmainidase (N) - Aids virus in getting out of the cell interior after replicating

99. Why is it difficult to make a proper vaccine for influenza? Why do we have to make a new influenza vaccine every year? (the answer is basically the same for both questions)

Influenza has a very high mutation rate, and it is difficult to predict what mutation will be transmitted around the world

100. What is the definition of an emerging virus?

Virus that originated in one organism, but they mutatetd or somehow got passed onto another organism to create disease

101. Which statement is true regarding the information we discussed about Hantavirus?

• Originated from Vietnam veterans coming back after fighting in unsanitary conditions

• Infected after inhaling mouse feces/urine in the air

• Normally found in rodents (specifically deer mouse)

• Happens in mostly dry areas

• Hemorrhagic fever is when the organs or even the skin will start ti bleed out, if it is not quickly treated, it results in death

102. Which statement is true regarding the information we discussed about the Ebola virus?

• Found in Africa (specifcally Congo region) , reaches Western countries from infected foreign aid workers

• Symptoms include: night sweats, chills, hemorrhagic fever (everything bleeds inside you, you are liquefied essentially

103. According to the video The Ebola Virus Explained – How Your Body Fights for Survival, normally you have an immune system to kill-off dangerous bacterial a viral invaders, but the Ebola virus is extremely dangerous. How does it affect dendritic cells?

Takes over dendrite cell by binding to the receptors for cell transport

Uses it to build more Ebola virus

Once its resources are used up then it is dissolved

104. According to the video The Ebola Virus Explained – How Your Body Fights for Survival, normally you have an immune system to kill-off dangerous bacterial a viral invaders, but the Ebola virus is extremely dangerous. Why do natural kill cells not work against the Ebola virus?

They get infected and die before they can prevent the disease from spreading

105. According to the video The Ebola Virus Explained – How Your Body Fights for Survival, normally you have an immune system to kill-off dangerous bacterial a viral invaders, but the Ebola virus is extremely dangerous. How does it affect the guard cells such as macrophages and monocytes?

Circumvents their defenses

Manipulates the signal to the cells that make up the blood vessels to release the blood into the body

106. According to the video The Ebola Virus Explained – How Your Body Fights for Survival, normally you have an immune system to kill-off dangerous bacterial a viral invaders, but the Ebola virus is extremely dangerous. What happens after neutrophils are activated?

Signal to the blood vessels to cause more internal bleeding

107. According to the video The Ebola Virus Explained – How Your Body Fights for Survival, when Ebola virus gets really bad the body releases a cytokine storm. What happens?

The immune system launches ALL of its weapons, causing a lot of collateral damage 

108. Which statement is true regarding the information we discussed about the SARS virus?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome. Originated from weasels in china. Low mutation rates so you can just quarantine the people who get it and it won’t spread to general population. 

109. How can some viruses lead to a greater likelihood of certain cancers? (know the examples discussed in lecture)

Hepatitis B, Cervical Carcinoma and HPV

110. What does the prion that causes transmissible spongiform encephalopathies do to the brain of an infected organism?

It causes neurons to die causing the brain to become spongy and stop holding its shape

111. In our examples discussed in class, how do humans or cows contract prion?

Cows were being fed ground animals which were infected with prions. 

112. The scientist named Prusiner discovered and named prions in 1982 after reviewing the work of Alper and Griffith (1960s). What exactly are prions?

They are proteins that can misfold other proteins, and those misfolded proteins can misfold other proteins. 

113. According to the video What Happened to Mad Cow Disease, how did BSE get started in theory?

First recorded case in 1986 (some scientists believe it started in the 70s), and it was caused by cows being fed ground up meat and bones from sheep and other cows

114. According to the video What Happened to Mad Cow Disease, what is a symptom to vCJD which can be the results of a human prion infection?

Symptoms: Brain degeneration, trembling, dementia, trouble walking, and eventually coma

115. According to the video What Happened to Mad Cow Disease, what is the main thing that has helped get mad cow disease under control?

Mainly new farming practices, such as giving cows safer food with no nervous tissue

116. What is the definition of a viroid?

Tiny naked molecules of RNA

117. Which organisms seem to be most affected by viroids?

Plants, specifically coconut palms (but can infect all plants)

118. How is it theorized viroids replicate?

By hijacking a host plant’s replication machine (please clarify I am not too sure sadly)

119. According to the video Viroids – Possibly the Smallest Pathogens on Earth, unlike RNA viruses, the RNA of viroids is not used to make proteins, what is it used for instead? (know the two reasonings the video gives you)

1. Used to make their way into a plant cell’s nucleus or chloroplasts, where photosynthesis happens

2. Makes copies of itself

120. According to the video Viroids – Possibly the Smallest Pathogens on Earth, can viroids infect humans?

They can’t

121. According to the video Viroids – Possibly the Smallest Pathogens on Earth, although viroids mainly infect plants, why do scientists think they are important to study?

They can educate us on how life first started as scientists think viroids are some of the first lifeforms on earth. They life started as rna then formed into dna later on.