If a person who has recently had the flu has been asked whether the virus can be beneficial to his body, he will at best twist his finger at his temple. And it will be right in its own way. Viruses, these tiny microorganisms that multiply only if they are in a living organism, are usually associated with the disease. Even the word "virus" means "poison" in Latin.
But even Paracelsus said that the poison from the medicine is different in dose. Introducing you top 10 viruses that may be beneficial to humans.
10. Bacteriophages - bacteria hunters
In our body there is an invisible battle. If you make a film based on his motives, a real horror movie would come out. Imagine an organism that infects and devours another organism. Only in the role of a monster are bacteriophages living in the mucous membranes of the human body, and in the role of a victim - harmful bacteria. A study conducted in 2013 showed that when the bacteriophage was placed in the same culture with the bacterium E. coli (E. coli), he was able to kill it.
But the cells of the human body do not infect bacteriophages, and are successfully used in the treatment of bacterial infections. Isn't this one of the most useful viruses in the world?
9. GB virus C against HIV
Another interesting virus that is currently being studied by scientists is known as GB virus-C (GBV-C, aka hepatitis G). More than a billion people living today are already infected with it, not even suspecting it.
Several experiments show that when a person with HIV becomes infected with GBV-C, the progression of HIV can slow down. Some experts also believe that GBV-C can help a person survive infection with Ebola hemorrhagic fever, although there is still little evidence.
8. Viruses on guard of embryos
In the study of cells of a three-day embryo, scientists discovered many viral proteins. Some of them have already begun to unite in the likeness of finished particles of the virus. Moreover, they acted on other genes of the embryo.
- So, the viral protein Rec contributed to the increase in the level of protein IFITM1, which does not allow viral infection into the cell. That is, only viruses can protect the germ cells from their "counterparts".
- In addition, the Rec protein regulated the number of ribosomes in several cellular RNAs. So far, scientists have not figured out how this could affect the embryo.
- The results of experiments with germ cells were published in the journal Nature in 2015.
7. I train, thanks to the virus
At the beginning of life there is a “window of time”, when the brain is like a sponge, and easily absorbs new knowledge and skills. Without a protein called Arc, this window will never open.
According to a study by scientists at the University of Utah, Arc looks and acts like a viral protein. It is able to transfer genetic material from neuron to neuron. So, how do viruses act to infect host cells.
Researchers introduced Arc into bacterial cells. And when the cells produced this protein, it assembled into a capsid-like shape. This is the name of the shell containing the genetic information of the virus.
There is speculation that a long time ago, Arc got into the human genome along with some kind of virus. The virus, having integrated itself into the genome, “fell asleep”, and the cells began to use viral proteins for their own purposes.
The prospect that virus-like proteins can become the basis for a new form of communication between cells in the brain can change our understanding of how memories are created.
6. Stomatitis for the treatment of oncology
Not only people get stomatitis. There is vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which is common in horses. Moreover, it can be transmitted to other animals and even people. The maximum that it can cause in a person is flu-like symptoms and blisters in the mouth.
But scientists were able to use this unpleasant virus for the benefit of man. Genetically modified VSV is used in the innovative treatment of liver cancer. The method was developed by researchers from the University of Miami and the Research Institute at the Ottawa Clinical Hospital. Its essence lies in the fact that some modified viruses, including VSV, can multiply only in cancer cells that have lost their antiviral protection. Innovative therapy is currently being tested in people with liver cancer.
5. Good and bad norovirus
Noroviruses are pathogenic microorganisms that cause vomiting, diarrhea, and flu-like symptoms. Not only humans, but also laboratory mice suffer from them, the virus easily destroys entire colonies of poor rodents.
However, some strains of norovirus have been found to be useful in mice that have grown in a sterile environment. In the body of such experimental animals, there were not enough T and B cells, which damaged their intestines and immunity. And with the addition of mouse noravirus, the “sterile” animals restored intestinal tissue and increased immune defense.
Perhaps in the future, people will be given certain strains of norovirus for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
4. Thanks for the live birth, retrovirus
Childbirth is a complex and lengthy process. And perhaps some women would prefer to lay their eggs quickly, like snakes or turtles, instead of long births. But alas, for the lack of this opportunity, it is worthwhile to thank the so-called "endogenous retroviruses".
According to some scientists, these ancient viruses appeared in our ancestors and caused a mutation in the genetic code. Because of this mutation, mammals have a placenta and the ability to live birth, which was a real evolutionary breakthrough. With the extension of intrauterine development, scientists attribute the most important changes that occurred in mammals about 60 million years ago. They increased brain size and gradually developed mental abilities.
3. Gamma herpes viruses cannot be poisoned
Do you know the agony associated with food poisoning? Often this condition is caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. But for every infection there is a government. And in this case, it is another infection - gamma herpes virus type MHV-68. It turned out that this infection, proceeding in a latent form, increases the resistance of the human body to Listeria monocytogenes.
This, of course, does not mean that you need to catch a cold sore to get rid of the threat of food poisoning.
2. Adenoviruses can help treat cancer
These are very common and highly contagious viruses. Fortunately, with all this, they are not too dangerous for humans. For example, they can cause colds, gastroenteritis in children, and - the most dangerous - pneumonia in people with weakened immune systems.
Moreover, adenovirus strain type 52 (HAdV-52) can bind to a specific type of carbohydrate, which is located in the cells of a cancerous tumor. This feature of adenovirus requires further study, but gives hope for a more successful fight against various types of cancer in the future.
1. The virus will save from heat
In the first place in the list of viruses that are useful for humanity, is a microorganism that is not in the human body. But it is still necessary, only not to people, but to plants, in order to withstand very hot temperatures.
This is a virus that infects the endophyte fungus. And he, in turn, grows on tropical millet, which does not care tropical heat.
Scientists were able to attach the virus to other plants, and they got resistance to high temperatures. Researchers managed to grow tomatoes in the soil, whose temperature reached 60 degrees Celsius. When the virus was "removed", the plant immediately lost its heat resistance.
