We have discovered half our human DNA originally came from viruses. Well that’s at least according to National Center for Biotechnology (NCBI) and who are we to argue with that pedigree. They say this situation came about after viruses infected and embedded their DNA in our ancestors’ egg and sperm cells. We decided it was time to brush up on our knowledge of infectious diseases and how infection works.
Microbes’ Role in Infectious Diseases and How Infection Works
We had a creepy feeling when NCBI mentioned microbes camp out on our skin, gut and mucous body surfaces. Although we felt a little better when we learned we have a beneficial relationship with most of these ‘persistent colonists’. When we delved into how microbes, infectious diseases and infection work together, we learned most share a common interest in our survival.
The numbers are actually quite staggering. We have ten times more bacterial cells than human ones, and as least ten trillion of them in our gut. They perform essential roles in repelling organisms causing diseases. They also synthesize vitamins, break down food into absorbable nutrients, and stimulate our immune systems.
We Provide Accommodation for Five Types of Microbes
There are five types of microbes, namely viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminth ‘worms’. We’ll explore these in future post.s However, the thought to remember is microbes are incredibly adaptable.
The better ones produce more offspring to carry their strain forward. Humans produce a new generation every 20 years. Bacteria may do this every 20 to 30 minutes, but that’s nothing compared to the blistering speed of viruses. Microbes are particularly adaptable to environment change, because of their huge variety and immense numbers.
Humans do not have this capability, with global warming threatening our lifestyle right now. We could fit billions of Sars-CoV-2 viruses onto the head of a pin. How surprising such small matter could cause such a large health crisis. More about infectious diseases and how infection works in our next post.
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Preview Image: Developing DNA Signatures
