Science Behind COVID-19
The COVID-19 outbreak has been having a profound impact globally. It has infected hundreds of thousands of people and has resulted in tragic deaths of thousands worldwide. Why is this virus so dangerous and what happens when a person is infected with the virus?
What is a virus?
Viruses are microscopic parasites, generally much smaller than cells. Viruses are not made out of cells but they can reproduce. A virus is considered both living and non-living because they can reproduce but they don’t have the mechanics to do so. All viruses also carry a form of genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA which has the information that it needs to reproduce.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses were first found in the 1960s, but people did not know where they came from. They get their name from their crown-like shape. A coronavirus can infect both animals and humans. The three main coronaviruses that have affected humans in recent times are COVID 19, SARS, and MERS. The SARS virus had an outbreak in 2003 which killed 774 people. Since 2015, there were no more cases of the SARS virus reported. The MERS outbreak was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and had its second major outbreak in 2015 in Korea. Overall the MERS virus killed 858 people. The COVID 19 virus is the current form of the coronavirus which had its first case in December of 2019 in China.
Parts of the Coronavirus
The structure of the Coronavirus has five main parts which are the Spike Glycoprotein, M-Protein, Envelope, RNA and N protein, and E protein. All viruses are made up of either DNA or RNA strands which have the information needed to replicate itself. In the case of the COVID 19 virus is made up of RNA strands. These RNA strands and the N protein are surrounded by a capsid. The coronavirus’ RNA, in this case, is encased in a helical capsid and that helical capsid is then encased in an envelope. The M-Protein is used to kill or damage the immune system and cells. The Spike Glycoprotein helps the virus latch onto cells and help them escape the cell.
Stages of Coronavirus Infection
Part 1: How does a Person get Infected by the Coronavirus?
For a person to receive the COVID 19 virus, a person would need to come into contact with someone who has the virus. This could be through their respiratory systems such as a cough or a sneeze, through physical contact with the person, or touching a surface that the virus is on and then touching your nose or mouth. These different methods allow for the Coronavirus to enter an individual’s body.
Part 2: Infecting the Cells
After the COVID 19 virus enters a person’s body, the virus then starts to infect the person’s cells in their lungs. First, the virus will bind to the receptors on a person’s cells, then the outer layer of the cell will open up the cell for it to go through. You can think of that outer layer of the virus-like a key and if the virus has found the right cells in the right keys it is then able to open the lock on these cells and as a result, the virus can enter the cell.
Once the virus has access to the cell, it will start using the cell’s ribosomes to replicate itself. Normally this machinery is used for a person’s DNA which uses ribosomes to make proteins that have all sorts of functions and travel all of your body but the coronavirus ends up hijacking the system. A ribosome is like a printer for your body. It uses its RNA to go through those ribosomes and starts making proteins that it wants. This means your cell starts to produce viruses by making the RNA, N protein, capsid, and envelope.
The virus eventually fills the cell and make its way back through the cell’s membrane where they break out often destroying the cell in the process. Once the cell gets out it goes to the next cell and then continues the process of reproducing. Once more and more cells start getting destroyed and dying a person’s body will start to trigger immune responses.
Part 3: The Immune System Fighting the Virus
In a healthy human, their immune system will realize that there is something bad inside your body and then mount an attack. The immune system is like your body’s defense system. For its defense, when the coronavirus is detected the body triggers signals to start producing antibodies. These antibodies are created by your DNA. These are sections of code in each cell’s DNA that tell how to build different defense systems. Enzymes in the nucleus find the section of DNA, make a copy called messenger RNA which gets sent to the ribosome in your cells. These messenger RNAs will use the ribosomes to create more antibodies to help fight the virus.
As the immune system comes to fight the Coronavirus, the Coronavirus hijacks the immune system and sends an immune response. This immune response is supposed to make the Coronavirus seem like a larger threat than it is, so more immune cells get sent to fight the Coronavirus. The Coronavirus then hijacks them and then this is when the major damage to the body starts to happen.
Symptoms of the Coronavirus Infections
The symptoms of the Coronavirus are headaches, runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and fever. A person’s temperature might increase because it will create a more deadly environment for the virus to live in. A person would experience a runny nose because as the virus and immune cells are dying due to the “war”, the body is trying to get the dead cells out. A person with the virus might feel weak and tired because the body will start putting all of its energy into fighting the virus and instead towards day to day actions. A person’s bones might also feel sore as they are creating more white blood cells to fight the virus.
Why is the Coronavirus a Problem?
The reason why it is hard for our body to stop viruses is that it does not detect the virus right away when it enters a person’s person’s body. For coronavirus, those with healthy immune systems should be able to get cured of the virus within weeks. The problem is for those who have a weak immune system which is often people who are elderly or very young. This coronavirus affects mostly the elderly because when we grow older our immune systems get weaker.
As more of a person’s cells are dying due to the virus, the body goes into overdrive to save the person’s immune system. In severe cases, white blood cells are responsible for activating a variety of chemicals that can cause the leaking of fluid into the lungs. The combination of cellular destruction from the virus and fluid-filled lungs interrupts the transportation of oxygen into the bloodstream which can lead to suffocation and organ failure.
The virus isn’t always the cause of death. Often with a weakened and distracted immune system other organisms like bacteria can take advantage of the body causing further complications. As organs begin to shut down, the whole body can give up.
Timeline of the Coronavirus Outbreak
In December of 2019, the first case of the Coronavirus was reported in China. Then in January of 2020, the virus spread, even more, and started to affect more of China. In February of 2020, more countries started to report cases of this virus. In March of 2020, the Coronavirus has caused many countries to get quarantined and closed their borders. The Coronavirus is causing a lot of damage not just to people’s health but also to the economy due to many countries’ shutting down social events and workplaces. In this year alone the DOW has dropped more than 30% and the NASDAQ has dropped around 25%. Coronavirus is still infecting more people and causing more damages.
How to Prevent the Coronavirus from Spreading?
The main way to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading is by washing your hands frequently. The main way the Coronavirus spreads is by people not washing their hands and then touching other surfaces. Viruses can live on a hard surface for hours or even a few days. It is a good practice to clean surfaces frequently such as computer keyboards and tables.
Another way to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading is by cover your mouth when you need to cough or sneeze. This may seem simple but a lot of people don’t do this. The main way other people get the Coronavirus is by the other people’s respiratory system. When people don’t cover their mouths it can cause other people to potentially get the virus.
Another way to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading is through social distancing and staying at home when you feel sick or unwell. Coronavirus is hard to detect in a person because the symptoms are common to other viruses. It is better to stay home when you feel sick or unwell because it will reduce the change that other people might get the virus.
Overcoming the challenge of Coronavirus
COVID19 coronavirus is one one of many virus and infects a person through various stages. However it has a unique ability to easily infect people and is difficult to detect if a person is infected from just their symptoms. Further understanding how it spreads and following best practices like social distancing will help contain this outbreak. Coronavirus is currently causing a lot of damage to people’s health and the economy. But we can overcome this challenge since humanity has grown so much in terms of technology and science in understanding such pandemics. Soon in the near future, this Coronavirus will be contained and we will have vaccines to prevent its spread in the years to come. Until then we should follow health experts advice on ways to prevent its spread.
