Viruses. The villainous microorganisms (not really) that we battle with when referring to the pandemics of Covid-19, Ebola, as well as common seasonal cold and flu surges. There is still discussion as to whether they are alive, or just protein coats packed with genetic material that hack into our cells to create clones of themselves. Viruses contain DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, and another fatty layer, often stolen from the membrane of the cell that it infects.

Viruses tend to be diverse in shape, however, there is one in particular that everyone fears: The Bacteriophage. They pick specific bacteria to hunt down and prey on. The process begins by the virus's long tail fiber landing on the surface of the host cell’s membrane, where they bind to specific binding sites on the host cell that aids them in the attachment process. The virus then uses its sharp spikes to pin itself to the cell and penetrate the cell’s double layer membrane. The virus colonizes the cell and takes over by injecting its genetic material inside the cell. They hijack the bacteria’s DNA and attach their own genetic material to it, enforcing the copy of their DNA. This prompts the synthesis of their protein coats and replication of their genetic information, making the host bacteria a mere factory of bacteriophages. Those components start assembling and forming countless bacteriophages which then burst out of the cell, resulting in the death of the cell and colonization of neighboring cells.

Those very small creatures have recently caught the eyes of scientists and researchers, because in reality, viruses, especially bacteriophages, might not be our enemies, but rather our saviors. Due to the overconsumption of antibiotics, bacteria, like any other living organisms, have evolved into what are known as “superbugs”, which are harmful bacteria that have, over time and mutations, become resistant to most antibiotics. Such antibiotic resistant bacteria have become a threat to humanity, where any small cut or infection could lead to the death of a person. However, with the aid of these tiny killer viruses, infections of harmful superbugs or antibiotic resistant bacteria could be cured. To elaborate, due to the specificity of bacteriophages, human cells and other bacteria tend to be safe from them, except the particular bacteria species whose binding antigens match the virus’s receptors. This makes virus specific, as opposed to antibiotics, where antibiotics could kill the good and the bad bacteria in our body.

However, a speculation arises: wouldn’t exposing bacteria to phages result in the mutation and evolving of the bacteria, making them resistant to the bacteriophage? The answer is no, because bacteriophages also have an ability to mutate and alter their genetic material in order to evolve and continue colonizing and infecting bacteria. This results in an endless war between bacteriophages and bacteria.

When a virus replicates, there is always a small chance the proteins that assist it in making a copy of itself mess up, which is essentially just our cell’s machinery (the ribosomes and nucleus). This one mistake, for example by deleting a letter in our genetic code, or replacing it with another, might cause the proteins that it makes to change slightly. Now this may be for the better or worse and mutations are very common. The mutations that damage or worsen a very important component of the virus actually end up making a virus that does not function, so it just fails to form.

Even when there is a useful mutation in a virus, it is just the singular organism that has it. The spread of this mutation to other viruses depends on how the change helps the virus attach to cells and how quickly it helps the virus colonize the host’s protein-making machinery. This mutation is actually quite simple, and nothing like the drastic ones shown in movies. If anything, it makes a virus harder to defeat, more damaging to the patient, or faster in replicating itself. And if a person who has this coughs or sneezes over particles, you can imagine the rest. This is how variants and strains make it through regions of infections, and you can even view up-to-date resources and graphs of viruses and their variants, coded according to different regions, variants, and other features.

Mutations also occur in human body cells. Even though mutation is completely normal, it is the time taken by the immune response to react which gives a cell an opportunity to mutate. Of course, viruses evolve as they get better at spreading and taking over host organisms. They will increase in numbers while their genetic ancestors without the mutation fail to catch up to them. Hence, biologists often refer to them as non-living factors that lead to the evolution and development of other organisms that have to adapt to act against them, while they themselves mutate over time. While this cycle continues, we race against changing viruses that challenge our wellbeing as we threaten theirs.