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Viruses, Viriods and Prions

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What are Viruses Viruses are obligate absolute intracellular Parasite which enters the host cell and hijack all cellular mechanisms of the cell. The term Virus is of Latin origin which means Toxin. They are prokaryotes (I.e. their genetic materials are not enclosed by a nuclear). Viruses was discovered in the late 1950 by Sergei Winogradesky and Sergie Beijerinck although, they were said to be in existence since 1890 Characteristics of a Virus    Virus possess the following characteristics features; Their size ranges from 20 – 400 nano meters They can’t be seen with the naked eye except with the aid of an electron microscope They require a host for survival They encyst outside a host (They can’t die but rather form cyst, inert chemicals or crystals) They are made up of Nucleic acid and protein capsid hence, they are called nucleocapsid They are prokaryotes (They lack a nuclear membrane) They are host specific They lack complex membrane ...
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The Cell Theory, Structure, Function and Types

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The discovery of the cell and its cellular component can be attributed to the observations and contributions of 5 major scientist which are; Robert Hooke: In 1665, using a high-powered magnifying lens observed dried wine cork tissues and saw small compartment which he called cells. He published his diagrams in his scientific journal called Micrographia. A nton Van Leeuwenhoek: In 1674, a Dutch draper who built the first light microscope and used it to observe bacteria cells (pond scum) and blood cells, He observed the cells moving and called it “Animalcules”. Mathais Schleiden (Botanist): He was a German botanist. In 1838, he observed plant tissues and saw cells similar to Robert Hooke diagrams. Theodore Schwann (Zoologist): He observed animal tissues and saw similar cells as described by Leeuwenhoek. Rudolf Virchow (German Physician 1855): He observed cells during division and said that all cells comes from pre-existing cells. The conclusions of these scientist were...
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Introduction to Biology [A Beginners Guide]

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WHAT IS BIOLOGY? Biology is a contraction of two Greek words, Bio and Logus. Bio means life, Logus means knowledge or study. Hence, we can say Biology is the study of living organism. It was popularized in the early 1880’s by a French scientist by Jean Baptiste Lamarck . He separated biology into two major branches which are Botany and Zoology. An English scientist Thomas Henry Huxley decided that studying living organism in isolation of the other wasn’t ideal and developed a system through which plants and animals could be studied under similar characteristics. These points are referred to as the Unifying Themes in Biology. UNIFYING THEMES IN BIOLOGY The unifying themes in biology are; Cell Homeostasis Genetics  Evolution CELL   This is the fundamental unit of all living organism which entails all function carried out by the living organism. The structure and function of a cell determines the overall function of the organism it comprises...
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