Monday, August 26, 2013

AP Biology--Blog 2

Hello! I hope this finds everyone relaxed and refreshed from a nice weekend. Last week we talked quite a bit about characteristics of viruses and what makes a good/virulent/dangerous virus. In your opinion, what is the most frightening/concerning thing about viruses? Please respond to this question, including an explanation for your viewpoint, AND respond to at least one other students' response. Have a great week!
Posted by at

50 comments:

  1. chicocholoschicoAugust 26, 2013 at 11:43 AM

    The most concerning thing about a virus for me is how sneaky and unoticable they can be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thelittlemermaidAugust 28, 2013 at 8:19 PM

      yes this is true but they make themselves very known once the host is infected

      Delete
    2. Sabor RaizAugust 31, 2013 at 6:53 PM

      I agree this is super concerning. How are we supposed to determine if we have a virus immediately, if we don't know the symptoms for days or even weeks

      Delete
  2. Goldfish9August 26, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    The thing that most concerns me about a virus is that it has potential to live on after it doesn't have a host.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ErikaDLCAugust 26, 2013 at 1:52 PM

      I agree. It's concerning that a virus that can just be dormant, sitting and waiting for its next victim.

      Delete
    2. harrypotterAugust 26, 2013 at 1:56 PM

      technically its not "living on" because it is not alive.

      Delete
  3. ErikaDLCAugust 26, 2013 at 1:50 PM

    I think the most concerning thing about viruses is how quickly they can spread and the way they aren't technically living, but they can kill a human being.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BearcatAugust 26, 2013 at 1:56 PM

      I think the most concerning thing is that since they multiply so quickly, they mutate and are then very hard to eradicate. I also agree that it is very concerning that they are not techically living, but are still able to kill living beings by their "own will."

      Delete
    2. ChupacabraAugust 27, 2013 at 1:10 PM

      yes that is very concerning.

      Delete
    3. Sabor RaizAugust 31, 2013 at 6:55 PM

      I believe this is very concerning, as well. The fact that something not living has the ability to kill a human without any human error is very mind blowing

      Delete
  4. harrypotterAugust 26, 2013 at 1:55 PM

    The most concerning thing about viruses to me is the situations it puts people through. Like how a person must completely change their life and has an effect on the people around them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gina123August 28, 2013 at 7:22 PM

      I agree completely! It is not only bad for the people directly infected with the virus but it is devastating to the people around them. Like HIV for instance, many times when someone finds out that someone around them has HIV they stray away from that person. Living with a virus ruins many friendships and even some family relationships. It is sad to think about.

      Delete
  5. UnknownAugust 26, 2013 at 2:01 PM

    The most concerning idea about viruses to me is the idea that some viruses are small and do not effect us much but that they can mutate and change into a virus that can be deadly to us. One example is when there is a small virus like bird flu and it does not affect the birds because their immune system fights it back, but when it is introduced to our system then they can be a big and deadly thing since we are not used to or immune to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousAugust 29, 2013 at 9:01 PM

      This is very concerning. If the virus can become lethal when we least expect it could kill a lots people.

      Delete
  6. Icy Five LordAugust 26, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    In my opinion, I believe that the most concerning aspect about a virus is the fact that they evolve too fast for us to come up with a vaccine that will allow us to become immune to them. We as humans may very well always fall victim to viruses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bumblebeeAugust 28, 2013 at 8:43 PM

      i agree with your opinion, we have no way of stopping or preventing viruses from attacking humans.

      Delete
    2. ChiefAugust 29, 2013 at 7:00 PM

      Yeah, the rate at which viruses can evolve is a little unnerving. They can just show up out of nowhere or come back from a prior virus we thought we had dealt with.

      Delete
    3. Red Sox FanAugust 30, 2013 at 1:09 PM

      Humans have no way of stopping or preventing viruses from attacking us. It is nature's way of controlling the populations of the world. Nature has to maintain the carrying capacity of an environment.

      Delete
  7. purplemonster05August 26, 2013 at 2:08 PM

    The most concering thing about viruses is the fact that they can just make things in your body into mush. That you can't see it enter into your body and begin to destroy you. Also the viruses that are the most deadly and crazy don't have an immune to them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownAugust 26, 2013 at 8:38 PM

    The most concerning thing about a virus is how you never know when it enters your body or when it leaves your body. You never know when it can occur and that's the scary part. They just spread so easily and some are more harmful than others and that makes them more intense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JenniferaAugust 29, 2013 at 8:16 PM

      Its scary to think that we could have a deadly virus living inside of us and not even know that we could only have ten days to live once it makes its move.

      Delete
  9. ChupacabraAugust 27, 2013 at 1:07 PM

    The scariest thing to me about a virus is the potential it has to do bad things. As well as the incubation period we dont find out what we have until symptoms show up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bazinga15August 29, 2013 at 8:08 PM

      The incubation period of some viruses is scary to think about. For all a person knows a deadly virus could be living inside of them right now, but they don't know it yet because they haven't shown any symptons

      Delete
  10. Gina123August 28, 2013 at 7:16 PM

    The scariest thing to me about viruses is that some of them can go so long "living" inside you completely unnoticed. HIV is one such virus. It is terrifying to think that we have no idea what everything living inside our bodies actually is. Little is known about viruses, which also is alarming if one does discover a virus inside them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Cookie MonsterAugust 31, 2013 at 4:13 AM

      One nice thing about giving blood is they test you for HIV every time, so in case you ever contract it and you give frequently, you'll know within 3-6 months of becoming infected.

      Delete
  11. thelittlemermaidAugust 28, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    the most concerning thing about viruses is that they are so dangerous and lethal and yet we have a very small combat system against them

    ReplyDelete
  12. bumblebeeAugust 28, 2013 at 8:41 PM

    I think the most concerning thing about viruses is that if one was to ever occur again we wouldn't be able to stop it because we don't have any medicine or anything like that, to attack it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. ChiefAugust 29, 2013 at 6:55 PM

    I'd say the most concerning thing about viruses is that they can change fairly rapidly, so a virus that was not a large threat in the past can suddenly become a large problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HeisenbergAugust 29, 2013 at 10:08 PM

      Whether viruses are alive or not, they share one purpose with living beings, and that is to multiply. This being the case I'd like to quote a favorite movie of mine by saying, "Life finds a way"

      Delete
    2. Chocolate24September 3, 2013 at 6:23 PM

      I would also agree that whether the virus is alive or not it is made to multiply and destroy there hosts.

      Delete
  14. Bazinga15August 29, 2013 at 8:04 PM

    I think the scariest thing about viruses is that there isn't vaccines are cures to all of them. There are probably some deadly viruses hanging out around the world just waiting for the perfect time to strike and when they do, we won't have any way to counteract it. Fear of the unknown

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dizzyfeet25August 29, 2013 at 9:11 PM

      I completely agree, not having a cure is almost just as bad as having a virus.

      Delete
    2. purple14September 3, 2013 at 3:56 PM

      I agree as well. Not having a vaccine or another way of prevention is so scary. Deadly viruses are so easily spread now it seems.

      Delete
  15. JenniferaAugust 29, 2013 at 8:10 PM

    I think the scaries thing about viruses is that we can go years without showing symptoms and then die suddenly. Not only does this make it difficult to point out what caused the virus or where it originated from, but I can cause unknown spreading to an infected person's loved ones.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousAugust 29, 2013 at 8:50 PM

    The most dangerous thing about viruses is that they can evolve very quickly, meaning they can adjust to any environment.

    ReplyDelete
  17. dizzyfeet25August 29, 2013 at 9:09 PM

    I think the most concerning thing about viruses is how bad they can attack the body. You don't even know if it's in your body then suddenly you're sick. And if it's a virus like Ebola, there are no cures, which is even scarier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. happykidAugust 31, 2013 at 6:57 PM

      I agree, a virus without a cure is extremely scary because if it becomes a pandemic then there is no way to stop it from spreading.

      Delete
  18. lightingbug11August 29, 2013 at 9:46 PM

    I think the Scariest thing about a virus is that you don"t know sometimes that you even have something going on. The virus has no cure, and is not something that can be cured with antibiotics,you just have to fight it off. I just find it scary that you don't know how to get rid of the virus, and with that knowing it can mutate and get worse,but not be able to even do anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. HeisenbergAugust 29, 2013 at 10:05 PM

    The most frightening thing about viruses to me is that they are better at killing us then we are at stopping them. Sure there hasn't been a horrifically lethal pandemic in a while, but the fact is that given their characteristic rapid evolution, we're basically at the mercy of nature when it comes to viruses. HIV, for example, we've been able to slow down, but we won't ever be able to stop it. What's more, once infected, most viruses more or less have their way with the body.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. eek14August 31, 2013 at 3:08 PM

      I agree. It's interesting to think about though! Viruses are so cool yet so scary and dangerous.

      Delete
  20. Bravo AlphaAugust 29, 2013 at 10:48 PM

    The most frightening thing about viruses to me is that they are always changing themselves to become a better virus. Viruses can mutate in as little as 24 hours. This means that its hard to get a vaccine shot or antiviral to stop a virus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sparrow96August 29, 2013 at 11:16 PM

      No matter what precautions we take the viruses can always continue to grow and change to find away to use us as hosts. The ability of viruses to mutate and evolve over time, to find a way through the immunity people have, is perhaps one of their mot terrifying traits.

      Delete
  21. Sparrow96August 29, 2013 at 11:13 PM

    The most concerning thing about viruses to me is how they can travel from person to person or even from the environment while going unseen and unnoticed. Not only can viruses travel so sneakily, but they also travel easily due to our great interconnectedness. Consider how far a virus can travel (going unnoticed) in just a few days based on how connected we are to other people. That is what's truly terrifying.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Red Sox FanAugust 30, 2013 at 1:05 PM

    The most concerning thing about viruses to me is that a virus can be inside a human body for a week or two without detection. When the symptoms finally start to appear it could be to late depending on the virus. Not knowing that there is a virus in my body that could kill me is concerning!

    ReplyDelete
  23. The Cookie MonsterAugust 31, 2013 at 4:10 AM

    This doesn't necessary scare me the most, but considering my first choice has been written to death, I think the entire idea of the lysogenic cycle is pretty awful. You think you're free of a disease then it can just pop up out of the blue and screw you over once again!

    ReplyDelete
  24. eek14August 31, 2013 at 3:05 PM

    The scariest thing for me about a virus is that you can have a virus growing inside of you and not have symptoms or side effects until ten years down the road. It's crazy to think that we could be the host for some nasty gross virus and not know it!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sabor RaizAugust 31, 2013 at 6:50 PM

    The scariest thing, in my opinion, is the ability for viruses to mutate so quickly. It makes creating a vaccine a game of guessing instead of pure science. However, as technology advances so does our ability to combat these 'little monsters.' Another thing that troubles me is the fact that you might not even know that you have a virus until weeks later, in which time you could have infected other people. Scary, Right? I think so...

    ReplyDelete
  26. happykidAugust 31, 2013 at 6:53 PM

    The scariest thing about viruses is that some are incurable or mutate so frequently that a vaccine is nearly impossible to make. This is concerning due to the fact that if a virus unknown to man does mutate to where it can infect humans, it may be a deadlier virus than HIV/AIDS.

    ReplyDelete
  27. purple14September 3, 2013 at 3:51 PM

    I think the scariest thing about a virus is the fact that they are spread so fast. We come in contact with people on a daily basis exposing ourselves to potential viruses. Not all virus have vaccines to prevent them, which is also scary. We might also be infected and not know it. You don't show symptoms until after the incubation period and it might be too late to save you.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Chocolate24September 3, 2013 at 6:20 PM

    In my opinion the scariest factor of a virus is how easily they are able to mutate into completely different viruses. A single difference in the virus genetic makeup can give it the potential to jump species and invade ours. Also the alarming fact that it happens so fast that humans are at a clear disadvantage whenever a new virus appears.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)