Main Idea - Viruses are a small disease that can reproduce and spread inside living organisms cells. They can infect any organisms or any life forms like plants and animals.
Driving Questions - What are viruses? They are a small producer that can infect and spread disease in a living organism. How does the structure of a virus relate to its ability to infect cells, replicate, and cause disease?
Viruses are not cells and they do not have any cell structures like plant or animals. Viruses are very small and are parasites they try to find a host to replicate and spread throughout the host's system. Viruses are composed of ONLY genetic material it can be either DNA or RNA. Viruses are surrounded by a protein coat the protein coat helps protect the genes of the virus. When a virus are outside a cell an envelope of lipids helps the virus finds a host cells, so they can live and infect.The viral envelope helps the virus avoid the host immune system which helps protect the host from viruses. Viruses have to survive and adapt by finding new host's to spread to and infect since they have a limited chance of living outside a host's cell. Most viruses are to small to be seen by a regular microscope used in a lab.
Principle/Concept - Virus is an infectious agent, it creates diseases and infects the host.
Words that may be used on background research
Viruses
Lytic cycle
Capsid
Vaccine
Host cell
Antigens
Virus replication
Lysogenic cycle
Envelope
Virus genome
Immune Response
Antibodies