Tiny Terror & Host
The specific region within a virus's protein shell that houses its instructions for making new viruses.
What is the inner core?
Organisms whose cells completely lack a membrane-bound nucleus to enclose their genetic material.
What are prokaryotes?
The form of asexual reproduction where a single bacterial cell clones itself by splitting into two identical daughter cells.
What is binary fission?
The reason a microscopic inspection of a bacterial cell will never reveal a nucleus.
What is because it is a prokaryotic cell with DNA floating free in the cytoplasm?
Chemical medications prescribed by doctors specifically to target and kill bacterial infections.
What are antibiotics?
An organism that provides a source of energy or a physical home for a virus or parasite.
What is a host?
While many bacteria are rod or sphere-shaped, this twisty term describes another common bacterial cell shape.
What is spiral?
A tough, protective wall that forms around a bacterium's DNA to let it remain dormant through extreme environmental conditions.
What is an endospore?
These microscopic protein factories scattered throughout the cytoplasm.
What are ribosomes?
The reason taking a course of penicillin will do absolutely nothing to clear up the common cold or flu.
What is because colds/flus are caused by viruses, which are unaffected by antibiotics?
This structural component on a virus's outer coat acts like a key, enabling it to lock onto and enter specific host cells.
What are surface proteins?
The long, whip-like appendage used by aquatic bacteria to propel themselves through fluids.
What is a flagellum?
The process in which two bacteria construct a bridge to exchange genetic material, giving rise to genetic variation.
What is conjugation?
Size-wise, this entity is so microscopic that thousands of them could fit inside a single standard cell.
What is a virus?
A biological preparation given prior to infection that trains the immune system to recognize and fight off specific viruses.
What is a vaccine?
The medical technique that relies on a virus's natural ability to invade host cells to deliver corrective genes to patients.
What is gene therapy?
Two essential ecological benefits provided by bacteria in nature other than causing disease.
What are oxygen production, food production, environmental cleanup, or nutrient recycling (decomposition)?
Unlike an active virus that hijacks a cell immediately, this type of virus inserts its DNA into the host chromosome and remains dormant.
What is a hidden virus (or latent virus)?
The rigid structure surrounding the cell membrane that gives a bacterium its shape and physical protection.
What is the cell wall?
The evolutionary phenomenon occurring when bacteria mutate to survive exposure to medicines meant to kill them.
What is antibiotic resistance?
The primary reason microscopic viruses fall outside the definition of living organisms despite possessing genetic material.
What is their inability to multiply on their own (or lack of cellular characteristics)?
The misconception about bacteria disproven by the fact that the vast majority are either harmless or beneficial to humans.
The misconception about bacteria disproven by the fact that the vast majority are either harmless or beneficial to humans.
The final destructive stage of an active viral replication cycle, occurring after the cell is packed with assembled viruses.
What is cell lysis (or bursting of the host cell)?
Sequence of events: Attachment, injection of genetic material, takeover/assembly, and finally this outcome for the host cell.
What is bursting open (lysing)?
Three proactive hygienic or behavioral habits recommended by health experts to interrupt the transmission of infectious pathogens.
What are handwashing, covering coughs/sneezes, staying home when sick, or proper food safety?