Scientists have been trying to cure viral infections for centuries. However, viruses are not easy structures to target given their mutative nature, and ability to "trick" the cell and the immune system into accepting it into the body. Below are various problems and questions regarding viruses along with possible scientific suggestions, which intend to guide researchers to find a cure for all viruses. All the analysis in this source supports these scientific suggestions, patterns, problems, and questions, setting the framework for future discoveries! I hope you all find my analysis to your benefit.
Where do viruses come from? How did so many different classes of viruses evolve? Will they ever become extinct?
To what extent does the viral DNA or RNA give instructions? Meaning, does it only contain the information needed to replicate the virus or does it also contain information which instructs/directs viral "actions" towards the cell?
Is it true that if there is a severe outbreak of a particular virus, then the virus does not come back with much severity? Could this pattern suggest something about how a class of viruses evolves over time to finally cause a pandemic?
Is it possible to determine/predict which viruses are most likely to cause a worldwide pandemic and explain why this is the case? For instance: during the Ebola pandemic, it never reached places like the United States. Just like COVID-19 began in China, Ebola originated in West Africa but never spread. What explains this?
Why do viruses mutate so rapidly? Is there anything to predict viral mutations? What triggers viral mutations?
Can we use eradicated viruses to help us find a cure for current viruses? Did eradicated viruses mutate at the rate of current viruses? Click here to learn about a few eradicated viruses.
What was the first existent virus? Can this help us trace viral evolution?
There are so many antiviral drugs and vaccines. However, each one is only effective for selected viruses. Since viruses are so diverse and mutative, it is difficult to predict the efficiency of a particular antiviral or vaccine on a particular virus strain within a large family (e.g., Influenza), further increasing the needs for drug discovery and vaccine development.
Suggestion: Though all viruses have a different classification, they are all considered "viruses." Therefore, all "viruses" must have something in common that one universal drug can attack. It would probably be most helpful to study structural similarities. Can we somehow predict how the structure of a virus is going to evolve? Another thought may be that all cell membrane receptors must have something in common in how they recognize other structures and let them into the cell. Click here to see a table of viruses and their corresponding receptors. However, the simplest explanation to this theory is that viral evolution had to start somewhere. If we trace back to where it started, then we can compare and contrast the newest viruses with the most ancient viruses to observe patterns.
Viruses have different impacts on different individuals. This is heavily observed with COVID-19; some people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms while others have major symptoms and can even die.
Suggestion: This most likely has to do with body composition and individual health. The amount and type of antibodies an individual produces, ethnicity, environment, diet, ancestral genes, and pre-existing conditions are probably some factors which influence their body's response to viruses. Virologists should develop a test to characterize different individuals according to these factors. After all, not one size fits all. Not one drug will fit all! This is SYSTEMS MEDICINE. Can this mean that certain people are more prone to getting a particular virus compared to others? Also, does the severity of viral infection have anything to do with how the virus binds and interacts with the cell?
The main problem with viruses is that they infect immune cells, disabling the immune system from being able to recognize the virus as foreign. However, given that all viruses are not so severe, it is clear that the time it takes for the immune system to react to a particular virus is different.
Suggestion: It would be helpful to find if the intensity of Glycosylation on a virus (amount of sugar bound to the viral surface) plays a role in inhibiting the immune system from recognizing the virus. This poses a question: to what extent does glycosylation play a role in influencing an organism's immune system and body cells? It would also be helpful to find the exact factor preventing an infected immune system from recognizing the virus. Is there something common among how different viruses infect the immune system?
Given that viruses are extremely complicated and "smart," perhaps life evolved from a single virus?
In biology, structure determines function. Theoretically, gene sequence should determine three-dimensional protein structure given that genes code for amino acids; it will therefore map a predictable protein structure. However, observations show that while the amino acid sequence of two different proteins may be completely different, their three-dimensional protein structure may be exactly the same. Click here to see this!