Tick Tock a Virus Clock

Link: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/01/18/mount_sinai_researchers_discover_how_the_flu_virus_tells_time.html

Other information: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/virus-human.htm

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/17/169605208/scientists-thwart-flu-virus-by-resetting-its-clock

Every time the flu virus infects someone it seems to some extent to be able know the amount of time it has to multiply and spread to other humans. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered that the flu virus is able to tell time, giving it a keen edge to survival. The way a virus multiply is it needs to infect the host cell and use resources from that cell to multiply. The internal clock is now needed for two reasons, first it needs to make sure that it does not move to fast otherwise it will not have time to multiply. Secondly, If the virus moves to slow the immune system will detect it and kill it before it has the chance to multiply.

Scientists hope this discovery about how viruses tell time will help them in creating a vaccine that would not allow this clock function to work. Dr. tenOever who was leading the research has experimented with this clock causing the viruses to work too quickly and they did not have enough time to multiply. Dr. tenOever would like this information on viruses to create a vaccine nasal spray usable to all ages because the current ages are 2-49 the shot is available to everyone but it is less effective.


N.O.S themes:

• Science is Collaborative - Dr. tenOever and a whole team of scientists worked on the experiment
• Role of Credibility- Multipul sources cite this work and it would not have been out there if the team was not credible.
• Role of motivation and Curiosity- They dream of creating a better vaccine with the time information