virology

In the virology it is about the science of viruses. It deals with the scientific description and classification of viruses. Virology also deals with the infection, course and control of viral diseases in humans, animals, plants and fungi.

What is the virology?

Virology belongs to the superordinate area of ​​microbiology. In addition, it is also assigned to medicine, especially in its practical fields of application. While microbiology deals with very small forms of life, researchers disagree as to whether viruses are living things in the narrower sense: The tiny parasites need a host in order to reproduce and do not have their own metabolism; thus they do not meet the classic criteria for the status of living beings.

Viruses consist of a protein shell that encloses their genetic information in the form of RNA or DNA. Viruses attack host cells by attaching themselves to their cell membrane (in the case of animals) or to their cell wall (in the case of plants and fungi) and smuggling their own genetic material into the cell. In this way, the virus affects the host cell and can modify the host's metabolism. Viruses differ in terms of their exact structure, their approach to infection and the consequences they have for the individual host cell or the entire infected organism.

Virology also deals with the development of methods and techniques to enable and improve the research and study of viruses. These include methods of cultivation, i.e. the controlled reproduction or preservation of living material. These basic knowledge and skills are of great importance in research and in the areas of application of virology: only through them is it possible to store samples or identify a specific pathogen.

Treatments & therapies

In its clinical application, virology deals with all diseases that can be caused by viruses. They can infect humans and animals as well as plants and fungi. However, not every virus can infect every living being equally: Despite their superficial simplicity, viruses are highly specialized parasites. Viruses cannot change host at will without prior mutation and subsequent changes in the genetic make-up.

Many diseases that people suffer from are the result of viral infections. When infected, the virus penetrates the organism and looks for a suitable host cell. The virus causes the host cell to take over the foreign genetic information and to carry out the instructions chemically stored in it. As a result, the host cell's metabolism changes and it begins to produce new viruses. As soon as the immune system recognizes the virus as a foreign body, it begins to fight it. This typically results in the symptoms of the respective disease.

Since the viruses first have to multiply in the organism, it takes some time from the actual infection to the onset of the disease. The length of this incubation period differs depending on the type of viral attacker. Only if the organism recognizes the viruses as intruders in good time can the body fight them early enough and prevent the disease from breaking out. When recognizing viruses, the immune system orients itself on so-called antigens: molecules on the outside. In order to avoid detection, however, some viruses camouflage themselves, for example with a slime-like shell.

Vaccinations help the immune system to arm itself against harmful viruses: When a vaccine is given, the body produces antibodies that, like pieces of a puzzle, fit precisely those surface molecules by which the organism can recognize the viruses. This enables the immune system to immediately identify invading viruses and fight them effectively before the disease can break out. Some known viral diseases that used to affect large parts of the human population are now believed to be eradicated due to vaccinations. This includes the smallpox caused by the variola virus. Viruses that are widespread and well-known today are, for example, the flu virus or the HI virus.

Diagnosis & examination methods

In many cases, characteristic symptoms of the respective virus infection enable a reliable diagnosis of the disease. However, certain circumstances make it necessary to precisely identify a pathogen. In such cases, the virological test identifies the virus, for example in the blood of the person concerned. Knowledge of the cause of the disease is essential for successful treatment. In addition to their prominent role as pathogens, viruses are also of great importance in the future therapy of diseases.

For example, medicine has only made use of the ability of viruses in previously experimental applications to transport substances directly into cells. Applications are conceivable in which viral phages transport drugs and specifically release them where the organism needs them. Some viruses specialize in transporting their genetic material into the nucleus of a cell and integrating it into the already existing gene sequence. Researchers see them as an opportunity for targeted gene therapy.

With such a treatment, introduced genes could, for example, replace missing gene sequences and eliminate the resulting malfunctions. In this way, the treatment of diseases whose origins lie in genetic defects and which are still considered incurable today is within reach. Virology could thus make a significant contribution to innovative therapies.