1

Customer Inserts His/her Name

Customer Inserts Grade Course

Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name

(Day, Month, Year)

 2

Abstract

A virus, a disease causing agent which can neither be classified as living or non-living

has always been of interest for researchers. Initially perceived as toxins, then as living, then

biological substance, viruses today are considered of as being in a gray region between living

and nonliving: they cannot duplicate on their own but can replicate in actual living cells and can

also influence the actions of their hosts intensely.

Viruses where have been dangerous to human body, have been beneficial in some cases

as well, through Biotechnology.

 3

Article Summary

Viruses can be harmful to human body, but in past few decades viruses are tampered with

to form substance which can create fighting force in a human body prior to the attack of

pathogens (disease causing ), Vaccine. Viruses carry a proteinaceous material which contains all

the data related to the disease. Vaccines are actually viruses, but with only their identity, their

pathogen content has been removed, so that on entering the human body they can trigger only the

defensive cells of the body and does not cause the disease.

Prophylactic Vaccines (for advance immunity) can be produced in different ways;

sometimes the disease causing content (antigens) are inserted in other organisms like bacteria

and microbes, these microbes produce combating force ( anti-bodies) to fight the disease. These

anti-bodies are then removed from the bacteria or any microbe exposed to the pathogen, and

inserted into human bodies to prepare the body against foreign bodies. Another very vital

characteristic of viruses are that they can be duplicated under set conditions in a lab.

There are researches done to create therapeutic vaccine (to cure already existing disease),

but so far these experiments are done on diseases like Emphysema and cystic fibrosis. The

medium to get the vaccine becomes simple as they are lung affecting diseases and nasal sprays

can work easily. Researches are done to get the engineered viruses directly with the genetic code

into genes of human body; however it will take few more years to make it work and actually cure

in-born genetic diseases or conditions like atherosclerosis or cystic fibrosis (Snider, 1999).
 4

Article Evaluation

The article discussed above has pointed towards many sub branches of Biotechnology.

Biotechnology is the branch of science which deals with technology used to manoeuvre DNA.

The measures are often called as genetic engineering. Genetic engineering, also described

as genetic alteration, is the human manoeuvring of genetic matter in a way that does not take

place under normal circumstances. It involves the use of recombinant DNA procedure.

Viruses can be used as vectors as well; Vectors being portion of DNA that are used to

shift genes into a host cell.

Through genetic engineering, individuals could uphold their existence with no danger

of AIDS or cancer. Humankind would not have to survive in fright of contracting a lethal virus

or genetic disease. In hypothesis, genetic engineering can achieve this. Genetic engineering can

progress the health of humanity enormously then as it is identified today. Today this branch of

science is used in the struggle against troubles such as cystic fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and several

more.

For some people, this is the opportunity for an improved and better life, but there are

others who fear that it is "becoming God" and trying to modify human being. Every one of these

analysis is correct in some way. Genetic engineering could be used to augment individual’s lives,

but can also damage individual’s lives (Snider, 1999).

 5

References

Snider, L (1999). Is it possible to engineer viruses retrieved February 15, 2011, from

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-it-possible-to-enginee