A group of scientists revealed a highly resilient virus, able to survive in harsh environments and develop resistance to any almost any kind of circumstance. Researchers all over the world are sequencing and analyzing the virus samples in order to see how it can be used to save human lives. SIRV 2, a super resilient bacteria could be the answer for various diseases, as gene therapy can now evolve with the help of these precious findings.
Seemingly it contains particular proteins that can be synthetized in laboratories, important data that can consequently be used to encapsidate DNA for drug delivery or imaging.
SIRV2, as the scientists called it, was discovered more than a decade ago and with thorough analysis and study, researchers have managed to unlock its secrets. The greatest thing about the bacteria is that it can resist to very high temperatures and can fight for survival in any kind of environment it has been exposed by now. The virus infects microscopic organisms and can survive in boiling acid and under extreme ultraviolet radiation exposure.
This is one of the greatest templates to copy when it comes to treating diseases, researchers say. The versatile facets of this particular virus could act like a most efficient coating, very efficient in a future gene therapy.
Over and above that, similarities have been spotted between the virus and methods bacterial spores use to survive, offering insights on the way SIRV2 forces itself into an A form, thus being able to protect its DNA. Protection of DNA is vital, working coherently as the strongest attempt to fight disease and preserve DNA, without leaving other viruses and bacteria kick in and infect the interior structures.
SIRV2 lives in acidic environments, where temperatures are very high, most of the times reaching over 175 Fahrenheit degrees. Understanding how the virus survives can help us catch insight on how infectious microbes can resist our body’s protective system, further offering extensive knowledge on how we can stop that from happening.
After years of trial and error, scientists managed to study the bacteria in its entirety using UVA’s new Titan Krios underground electron microscope, the most powerful electron microscope, with highest 2D and 3D resolution ever known, helpful in methodical characterization of biological samples. The greatest particularity of this microscope is that it uses UVA light to study behavioral patterns in spores.
Biology and genetics can now hold hands as they have a common ground to start with. Analyzing methods of resistance in powerful viruses represents a most prolific method to translate the findings into synthetic medication and gene therapy, aimed to increase resistance in front of dangerous and fast-spreading diseases.
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