RNA with HIV and COVID-19
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, and it is a molecule that is composed of two chains coiled around each other. RNA, on the other side, stands for ribonucleic acid it is a single chain. Despite the two molecules being nucleic acids, they differ in several ways, especially in terms of structure and composition. In terms of function, DNA is responsible for replication and storage of genetic information while RNA converts the genetic information in DNA to a more usable way. Structure wise, DNA is composed of two double helix strands while RNA is single-stranded. DNA is made of deoxyribose sugar while RNA is made up of ribose sugar, and this also differentiated the two nucleic molecules. Lastly, the two are different in terms f bases making each one of them. Both DNA and RNA have a total of four bases, three of which are similar in both cases and another one which is different in each case. This one base is what brings the differences between the two nucleic acids. The three standard bases in both DNA and RNA include adenine, guanine and cytosine. In the case of DNA, the fourth base is known as thymine, but this is replaced with uracil in RNA.
A positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus, (+ss RNA) virus is a virus that uses a positive sense as well as single-stranded RNA as its genetic material The HHMI virus explorer provides several viruses which fall under positive sense, negative sense as well as neutral which are neither positive nor negative. From the viruses described in the explores, there are three positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, and they include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and zika. These viruses are characterized by the fact that all of them have no found vaccine at present, but their discussion can be based on the family under which each one falls, the RNA genome for each and which organisms or species of organisms they infect. HIV falls under the Retroviridae family and has an RNA genome of approximately 9700 bp. The virus distinctly affects human beings. TMV falls under the Virgaviridae family, has a genome of about 6500 bp and infects tobacco plants. Lastly, zika is the last positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus according to the explorer, and it falls under the Flaviviridae family and has an RNA genome of 10800 bp. It infects organisms categorized under primate taxonomical order in which humans are members.
COVID-19 also known as coronavirus disease, is a respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus. It onset into the world is attributed to the first case, which was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Its presence in human’s body can be identified by looking at its common symptoms which include coughing, shortness of breath and fever. COVID-19 has no cure nor vaccine; thus, preventive measures remain the only option of addressing the infection. As stated in an article about mitigating COVID-19, “Keeping mortality as low as possible will be the highest priority for individuals; hence governments must put in place measures to ameliorate the inevitable economic downturn” (Anderson 1). In respect to this, individuals and the government are being advised to deploy measures of containing the disease to avoid its spread just as China has done. This would include quarantine, social distancing, as well as isolation of infected persons. Social distancing involves a number of strategies aimed at slowing down or stopping the spread of a contagious disease like COVID-19. It includes procedures such as avoiding crowded places and distancing oneself from infected individuals. The figure in the article by Ray Anderson illustrates the simulation of COVID-19’s transmission model. The graph has three curves, namely red, blue and green. The red curve represents simulation in the case of isolation only while the green curve indicates simulation when social distancing is deployed. The blue curve shows the risk of resurgence epidemic when social distancing is halted. This graph is beneficial because it helps in illustrating the importance of preventive measures ad ways of containing COVID-19.