Externet Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Do viruses, bacteria, and the microbes that cause illness to humans get their share of problems too with parasits or sickening agents other than antibodies ? I would love to see viruses with thermometers stuck in their mouths, keeping rest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDP Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Unless you count mutations as illness (and you shouldn't), then viruses can't get sick. On the other hand, bacteria can be infected by viruses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 bacteria can get viruses 'bacteriophages' is the term for them i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladeira Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 it'd be strange to see bacterias with breast cancer...! by the way it's exactly what insane_alien said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Weeeell, in a way bacteria (or other prokaryotes) are similar to cancer cells as both are in theory immortalized cells which can proliferate endlessly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Also, Bdellovibrio bacteria parasitise other bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydasaint Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Bacteriophage that are lytic (destroy the cells on exit after multiplication) can affect bacteria. Moreover, using correct bacteriophage could be used to control the extent of bacterial infection. However, viruses can be also used in a curative way for example in humans, viruses can be used to treat brain cancers: http://www.cancernetwork.com/brain-tumors/article/10165/78548 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graviphoton Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Bacteriophages are a virus that attacks bacteria. and that's already been said. Nice one Gareth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovebacteria Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 The thing with bacteria is that you can't really think of them in terms of individual cells. An antibiotic might be able to kill 99.99% of a population of bacteria, yet if one survives it can proliferate and be back to its original numbers in no time! So any sick cells just die and no one notices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 The thing with bacteria is that you can't really think of them in terms of individual cells. An antibiotic might be able to kill 99.99% of a population of bacteria, yet if one survives it can proliferate and be back to its original numbers in no time! So any sick cells just die and no one notices. The same could be said about humans except you would need 2, that doesn't mean they can't be classed as individuals, the rate of replication maybe a bit slower but it is the same idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xnebulalordx676 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 (edited) Yeah viruses can get ill. But this is a brand new discovery seems. This is new discovery separate from the bacteriophage subject. A group of researchers at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France were the finders. Here's the article: Even Viruses Catch Viruses By Jason Socrates Bardi, Inside Science News Service [posted: 28 September 2008 05:03 pm ET] http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080928-virus-viruses.html Edited October 7, 2008 by xnebulalordx676 spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genecks Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Weeeell, in a way bacteria (or other prokaryotes) are similar to cancer cells as both are in theory immortalized cells which can proliferate endlessly... What's the possibility of giving a bacterium cancer with a virus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 A cancer is when cells reproduce as fast as they are able to. Which is what bacteria already do. In a multicellular organism, these cells divide at the expense of all the other cells in the organism, potentially killing it. But in a single-celled organism, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference if there was one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 What's the possibility of giving a bacterium cancer with a virus? Zero. As mentioned, bacteria are themselves (basically) immortalized cells. Viruses will, at best, reduce their viability or slow their growth (unless transduction occurs, but then then virus is incomplete). It is not that cancer cells are necessarily defined by their kinetics (growing as fast as they theoretically can) but rather the mere fact that they do not stop proliferating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genecks Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) Zero. As mentioned, bacteria are themselves (basically) immortalized cells. Viruses will, at best, reduce their viability or slow their growth (unless transduction occurs, but then then virus is incomplete). It is not that cancer cells are necessarily defined by their kinetics (growing as fast as they theoretically can) but rather the mere fact that they do not stop proliferating. Are you saying bacteria don't have oncogenes? Edited November 7, 2008 by Genecks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 We're saying that it doesn't matter because of what bacteria are. Maybe cancer would affect colony forming bacteria, but I doubt even that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnasis Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 there is a new virus that has been discovered that parasitises the MimiVirus which infects aemobae. It is known as the sputnik virus which has only been recently discovered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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