My Science School

A corona virus is a virus that is found in animals. Sometimes these viruses can be transmitted from animals to humans, although it is rare. Officials do not know what animal caused the Wuhan corona virus, although the market it is linked to also sold wild animals, like snakes and crocodiles.

In addition to the Wuhan corona virus, other human corona viruses have included:

• The MERS virus, or Middle East respiratory syndrome.


• The SARS virus, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which first occurred in the Guangdong province in southern China.

It is believed that both MERS and SARS are more serious than the Wuhan corona virus.

Symptoms

Unlike MERS and SARS, the Wuhan corona virus is usually fairly mild. It can take longer for symptoms to develop. Symptoms may include:

• A mild cough.


• Shortness of breath.


• A runny nose.


• A sore throat.


• A headache.


• A fever.

So far, only 15 to 20% of cases have become severe. Those with weakened immune systems may develop more serious symptoms, like pneumonia or bronchitis. So far, only people 40 years old and older have developed the Wuhan corona virus infection.

Causes

Humans first get a corona virus from contact with animals. Then, it can spread from human to human. Health officials do not know what animal caused the Wuhan corona virus.

The Wuhan corona virus can be spread when one human comes into contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, such as droplets in a cough. It might also be caused by touching something an infected person has touched and then touching your hand to your mouth, nose, or eyes.

Officials do not know who transmits the Wuhan corona virus most or where most infections occur.

How is a corona virus diagnosed?

If you believe you may have a corona virus, you should see your doctor immediately. Before just showing up to your doctor’s office, alert your doctor that you’re coming and why. This will allow the office to prepare and perhaps isolate patients to prevent the spread of infection. To diagnose you, your doctor will run tests to rule out other common infections.

Can a corona virus be prevented or avoided?

There are currently no vaccines for corona virus. Try to avoid people who are sick. Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

If you are travelling to an area where the Wuhan corona virus is present, speak with your doctor first.

Corona virus treatment

• Symptoms of a corona virus usually go away on their own. If symptoms feel worse than a common cold, see your doctor. He or she may prescribe pain or fever medication.


• As with a cold, drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest.


• Living with a corona virus


• If you have the Wuhan corona virus, your doctor will advise you to stay home, rest, and drink plenty of fluids. Symptoms will usually go away on their own.


• When possible, avoid contact with others when you can to avoid getting them sick.

Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?

China’s national health commission has confirmed human-to-human transmission, and there have been such transmissions elsewhere.

How many people have been affected?

As of 25 February, the outbreak has affected 80,000 people globally. In mainland China there have been 2,663 deaths among 77,658 cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei. More than 12,000 people affected in China have already recovered.

The corona virus has spread to at least other 30 other countries. The most badly affected include Japan, with 850 cases, including 691 from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, and four deaths. Italy has recorded 229 cases and seven deaths, while South Korea has recorded 893 cases and eight deaths. There have also been deaths in Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Iran and the Philippines.

 

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Often, during conversations pertaining to heredity, be it with respect to certain mannerisms or behaviour, you might have heard people allude to their DNA. This is because we now know that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, holds the key to heredity to all forms of life and carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.

First isolated by Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher in 1869, DNA’s role as the carrier of life’s hereditary data wasn’t known for nearly a century. For, it was only in 1952 that it was firmly established that DNA was the substance that transmits genetic information. That was done through the Hershey-Chase experiment, also often referred to as the blender experiment.

Born in Michigan, the U.S. in 1908, Alfred Day Hershey attended public schools before going on to study B.S. in Bacteriology and doing a Ph.D. in Chemistry. He was drawn towards bacteriology and the biochemistry of life as a graduate student and even his doctoral thesis was on the chemistry of a bacteria. After receiving his Ph.D., Hershey moved into a career of research and teaching.

DNA or protein?

The foundation for the field of molecular biology was laid in the 1940s and the 1950s through research on bacteriophages. Bacteriophages, or simply phages, were known to be viruses – consisting only of DNA surrounded by a protein shell – that infect bacteria.

One of the key questions that was haunting the field was to find out which was the genetic material. The prevalent notion at the time was that it must be a protein, as its structure was complex enough to hold such data. Even though there was some research that pointed at DNA as the possible genetic material, most chemists, physicists and geneticists still held on to the then popular assumption.

Hershey, whose research on phages had provided him with a number of discoveries, set out to conclusively prove that the genetic material in phages was DNA. Along with his assistant Martha Chase, who had recently graduated, Hershey found a way to figure out the role played in replication by each of the phage components.

In experiments conducted in 1951-52, Hershey and Chase used radioactive phosphorus to tag the phage DNA and radioactive sulphur to tag the protein. These tagged phages were then allowed to infect a bacterial culture and begin the process of replication.

Role of blender

This process was interrupted at a crucial moment when the scientists whirled the culture in a blender. This was because Hershey and Chase had been able to determine that a blender produced the right shearing force to tear the phage particles from the bacterial walls, without damaging the bacteria.

Upon examination, it was clear that while the phage DNA had entered the bacterium and forced it to replicate phage particles, the phage protein was still outside, attached to the cell wall. In short, they were able to show that it was DNA, and not protein, that was responsible for communicating genetic information necessary for producing the next generation of phages.

Stimulates research

Hershey and Chase published their results on September 20, 1952. The Hershey-Chase experiment came to be popularly referred to as the blender experiment because of the fact that a simple blender had been used to achieve their test results. These results stimulated research into DNA, and within months, molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick published their work establishing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. In fact, Watson wrote in a 1997 memoriam that the Hershey-Chase experiment “made me ever more certain that finding the three-dimensional structure of DNA was biology’s next important objective”. It certainly turned out to be right.

Small in size, big prize

Alfred Hershey shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969 with Max Delbruck, a physicist who did research in the U.S. after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1937, and Salvador Edward Luria, a biologist and physician from Italy who fled to France in 1938 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1940. They received the Noble Prize for their contributions to molecular biology and their work on bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria.

Working independently, Hershey and Luria showed the occurrence of spontaneous mutation in bacteriophages and the host in 1945.

In the next year, Hershey and Delbruck separately discovered the occurrence of genetic recombination in phages. This showed that when different strains of phages infect the same bacterial cell, they can exchange or combine genetic material.

The three men turned out to be collaborators, despite the fact that they never worked together in the same laboratory.

They encouraged each other in their phage research by sharing results through correspondence and conversations.

 

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Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or simply Ebola is an infectious and fatal disease. It is caused by four or five viruses of the Ebola virus family. There is no treatment for the disease. Very few recover.

Ebola outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa.

The virus is transmitted from wild animals to humans through contact with their blood and other bodily fluids. Wild animals that could be infected include monkeys, chimpanzees, antelopes, porcupines and fruit bats. The fruit bat is believed to be a natural host of the Ebola virus. It may harbour the virus without being affected by it. Once the virus has jumped to a human and he starts showing symptoms of the disease the virus can spread from him to others. The virus cannot be transmitted through air, water or food.

The latest outbreak was in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO in July. Across the world, airports and other entry points have stepped up vigilance to ensure that the disease is not spread by travellers arriving from affected areas.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared their tenth outbreak of Ebola in 40 years on 1 August 2018. The outbreak is centred in the northeast of the country, in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

With the number of cases having surpassed 3,000, it is now by far the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak. It is also the second-biggest Ebola epidemic ever recorded, behind the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016.

The national laboratory (Institut National de Recherche Biomedicate (INRB) in Kinshasa) confirmed on 7 August 2018 that the current outbreak is of the Zaire Ebola virus, the most deadly strain and the same one that affected West Africa during the 2014-2016 outbreak. Zaire Ebola was also the virus found in the outbreak in Equateur province, in western DRC earlier in 2018, although a different strain than the one affecting the current outbreak.

 

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Aloe Vera, that cactus is now a rage among those making/using beauty products. You can buy the thick, gel-filled leaves of this plant is wayside push carts. Aloe get was used to treat sunburn and minor surface burns in ancient Egypt. Indians have traditionally used it for making kajal. A wick covered in aloe vera get is burnt with ghee and the soot coming out is captured to prepare kajal. The cool liquid makes an excellent moisturizer in winter. You mix it with coconut oil to make a massaging lotion.

When you use aloe see that your hands are clean. The gel should not be contaminated since you apply it on your face. If you buy a leaf, wash, use a sharp knife to slice off the outer layer, peel away the green portion of the leaves on one side, through to the gel underneath. Scoop the gel out with a spoon into a clean jar. The gel becomes stale, so take only the amount you need for instant use.

 

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Lavender oil is great natural soother of scalp conditions such as dandruff, and helps calm itchy skin. It is also said to help beat stomach bloating and poor digestion. Its purple plant is used as a sleep aid owing to its relaxing qualities – you stash a small branch under your pillow at night. Tests have shown that simply smelling it lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

Sprinkle dried lavender in tea, yoghurt or milk that you have before bed time. Put some in a flat vase and place it on the bedside table. Pour boiling water over dried lavender, strain and drink.

Most research suggests that lavender oil can help improve depression in people with depression. Taking lavender by mouth for 6 weeks seems to improve depression. A tincture of lavender appears to be slightly less effective than the medicationimipramine (Tofranil) for treating depression. 

Some research shows that inhaling lavender essence while receiving pain killers intravenously (by IV) can help reduce pain in women after a C-section. Other research shows that inhaling lavender for 3 minutes every 6 hours can lessen pain and reduce the need to use acetaminophen after a tonsillectomy in children 6-12 years old.

 

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Chamomile is well-known for its calming qualities. People who tend to be stressed and agitated take chamomile tea to calm their nerves. It helps to ease indigestion, inflammation, toothache and burns. The dry flower of the chamomile plant is used for tea and medicines. You can buy dry, crushed flowers and make tea by boiling teaspoonfuls of it in water.

Chamomile can also be added to your compost heap to speed up the rate of decomposition. It is one of a number of different herbs that are said to serve this purpose. Speeding up your compost heap can help to keep your garden functioning well and makes sure that you have the ingredients necessary to return nutrients to your polytunnel system.

Chamomile can also be used in hair care. An infusion of chamomile flowers is said to be a particularly good hair shampoo, especially for those with fair hair. Simply use in place of purchased shampoos in a sustainable hair care system.

 

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If you are forgetful, look for the evergreen rosemary plant. Rosemary is known for its ability to boost memory and increase focus. The herb is used routinely in all kinds of pasta and in a lot of baked food. It is supposed to reduce inflammation and relieve mild pain. Rosemary boosts your immune system, stimulates circulation and heals mild skin conditions. Taken regularly in small quantities, it helps to flush out toxins. People believe it prevents bacterial infections, especially stomach bugs. Many shampoo brands add it to their products.

In ancient Greece, students wore rosemary crowns to improve mental performance. We can’t do that now. What we can do is to snip off a sprig and sniff it regularly for a memory boost. We can also immense it in hot water and add honey for some aromatic tea.

 

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Thyme is known for its antibacterial properties. It is part of the natural treatment for acne. Taken regularly, it controls blood pressure, boosts our ability to resist diseases. It is used as a disinfectant (kills germs) and is added to natural/organic cleaning liquids. The oil extracted from thyme leaves is used in medicine prescribed to receive coughs, arthritis, wounds, nausea and fatigue. It’s even said to prevent hair-loss.

Grow thyme at home. Garnish your food with its leaves and springs. Use it instead of salt in salads. Add it to your pasta.

People have used oil of thyme as both an antiseptic and an insect repellent. Thymol is a common meat preservative, and olive farmers often combine thymol into the oil that preserves olives in the Mediterranean.

Unlike the fresh leaves, a person cannot consume essential oils by mouth or apply it directly to the skin. Dilute oil of thyme in a carrier oil, such as olive oil.

 

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The miracle fruit, (Synespalum dulcifcum), also called miracle berry belongs to the evergreen shrub of the Saprotaceae family. It is grown for its fruit which has an unusual property. When eaten with sour food, it can turn the sour taste to sweet. The plant is found in tropical West Africa, where it is used locally to sweeten palm wine.

The miracle fruit plant grows as a dense shrub or a small tree, to a height of around 5.5 metres (18 feet) in the wild. The simple leaves are oval and taper at the base with smooth margins and a waxy underside. They grow in cone-like clusters at the ends of small branches. The small white flowers give rise to red fruits of about 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 inches) in length, each with a seed. Plants grow in acidic soil and bear fruit after three or four years.

How does it turn sour flavour into sweet? It has a glycoprotein named miraculin, which was first isolated by Japanese researcher Kenzo Kurihara in 1968. Although miraculin itself is not sweet, it binds to receptors on the taste buds and makes acidic foods taste sweet. The sweetness in the mouth lasts from half an hour to two hours, with the intensity declining when minutes pass by. Miraculin is isolated and eaten in Japan.

 

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