The
Zika virus is a terrifying disease that affects many people across the globe
and is featured on the news prominently.
The article I chose is, “Yale team discovers how Zika virus causes fetal brain damage” from the Biology Net News website. The article discusses a research team at Yale
University’s studies on just how this infamous virus causes fetal brain damage
in their journal Cell Reports. The Zika virus causes the birth defect microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition in which, babies
are born with extremely small brains. According to the article, the Yale researchers
found that the Zika virus kills brain stem cells in infants and also disrupts
new brain cell creation. It also
prevents the protein TBK-1 from being involved in cell division in the Mitochondria
which causes brain cells to die.
With
their new-found research, the Yale team was able to conclude that Sofosbuvir,
an FDA-approved drug, has potential in preventing Zika virus damage when
studying neural stem cells infection in laboratory culture. It also showed positive results in keeping
TBK-1 functioning in cell division.
However, they do note that more research needs to be done into
investigating how effective the drug is against Zika. The article concludes with a call for more
studies on therapeutic approaches towards defeating Zika.
I
found this article very interesting and informative because I had such limited
knowledge about Zika except that it was the “shrunken head disease” that seemed incurable. After reading this article, I understand how
Zika causes a shrunken head, and that there are actual studies showing hope for
a cure. I want to read the actual Cell Reports journal now to get more
information on the Yale researchers’ experimental procedures. I chose this article partly because my
general curiosity and partly because it is relevant to society as a whole because
of its discussion of new research discovering the possibility for a cure for a
disease that affects many.
-Morgan
Campbell
So, is the Zika virus hereditary, or how does someone get affected by this virus?
ReplyDelete-A.G
There are many possibilities for an individual to be affected by the Zika Virus. the main one of course, is the bite of mosquitoes. once the person is bit by the mosquito, they can carry the virus in their blood for up to a week after the infection is cured. the other possibility for someone to be affects is from mother to child. they have found cases where a mother has the virus and then passes it to her child which then has the virus as well as birth defects. in this case i would say its possible to be hereditary but its not the most common way to get the virus.
Delete- MTM
reading your summary of this research on the Zika virus intrigued me because i also had no background knowledge on how it works. its interesting to me that the Zika would only attack the brain cell region and during developmental stages. this makes me think that viruses have specific goals and they get to their target vial loop holes in our immune system. the origin of Zika might be an interesting topic for me to read in the future if they ever find out where its come form.
ReplyDelete-Majhor Cheel
I remember hearing about this, and it was a huge advance to the medical cure of this virus. If concluded that this drug can help prevent the Zika Virus, how can Sofosbuvir reach the baby? Would we have to wait for birth to administer this drug? Does the mother have to take a pill?
ReplyDeleteTL
This semester I have also been taking Microbiology which has opened my mind to a lot of these arboviruses that are transmitted through insects. It is a member of the Flaviviridae family along with more common diseases like the West Nile Virus, dengue Fever, and yellow fever. With all the advancements in medicine, it is hard to believe that there is currently no vaccine for this disease which is very surprising given the fact it has been around for nearly 60 years. Although it is mainly isolated in warmer climates, Utah is still at risk for this disease so be careful in the summer months and avoid mosquito infested areas. Very interesting topic.
ReplyDelete-RW
How many cases of this are found in the US are the warmer climates in the US affected by this frequently or do we have less of a problem with it here? Also are there any vaccines for this?
ReplyDeleteKI
Zika virus was one of those diseases that are are devastating and spread suddenly. Discovering how the virus attacks the body and damages the brain is a huge step in developing effective treatments and saving lives. SRH
ReplyDelete