2012-07-20 13:38:20
It seems incredible that something that is located halfway between the living and the inert can cause so much misfortune, but that is what some viruses like HIV or the one that causes hepatitis C are like. When I use the phrase “halfway” it is because a virus It has few things in common with a living being, as we are used to understanding life.
A virus reproduces with prodigious ease, that is something that living beings usually do, but a living being does more than just reproduce. Even the simplest of bacteria feeds, grows and ages, a virus, on the other hand, does none of that. Looked at closely, a virus is a molecule of genetic material surrounded by a protein shell, it does not eat because it does not contain the necessary machinery to capture and digest food, it does not grow because its structure is complete from the first moment and, for the same reason , does not get old.
Its existence outside a cell is not very different from any inert molecule, it neither feels nor suffers, it behaves like the most common of inanimate objects. If viruses are properly purified, they can even form crystals, and there is nothing more rigid and lifeless than a crystal. Although most viruses pass by us without pain or glory, some members, not very desirable, invade our cells and use them as factories for new viruses, causing diseases such as AIDS or the one that is the protagonist today in Talking with Scientists, the Hepatitis C.
If cells are the most basic living beings that exist, viruses are the parasites of cells. When one of these semi-living objects comes into contact with a cell, it sticks to it thanks to the proteins in its shell and opens a hole in the cell membrane. Afterwards, the genetic material contained in the virus passes inside and its character changes, from an inert molecule to becoming an evil being. The genetic material of the virus begins to use the cellular machinery for its own benefit, to copy itself. That is, basically, its only purpose in life, inside the cell it takes things from here and there and with those bricks it creates an identical genetic copy, the process is repeated over and over again until the cell is completely destroyed. It becomes, in a few minutes, a bag in which hundreds of new viruses are piled up. Finally, the new generation comes out and disperses throughout the organism, each one looking like a harmless inert molecule, as if it had never broken a plate, until a new cell crosses its path and the cycle begins again.
Despite how simple the viral machinery is compared to that of a cell, developing strategies and drugs that allow the fight against them is an impressive challenge. Our guest today, Antonio Más López, professor of UCLM and researcher Molecular Virology Group in it Regional Biomedical Research Center . His research focuses on the fight against the Hepatitis C virus, a liver disease that affects many millions of people around the world (certain sources cite the figure of 180 million, although the reality is that it is not knows).
Antonio Más López tells many things in the interview about viruses in general and the Hepatitis C virus in particular: what they are like, how they reproduce, what strategies scientists are currently using to fight them, how difficult the path forward is. from the moment an idea begins to be investigated until, if there is great luck, it is successful and a new drug is developed, etc. Antonio Más is researching a new strategy to combat the hepatitis C virus that could lead to new medications in the future.
We invite you to listen to the interview with Antonio Más López.
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