Could artificial viruses cause pandemic someday?
1) Creating artificial viruses is possible
The first time in history, we have an opportunity to make artificial viruses and things like nanotechnology are allowing us to connect base pairs of the DNA, and produce simple viruses. When we are thinking about the possibility to create synthetic genomes, the thing that we must realize is that the things, what we can do are the simple 1-7500 base pairs. That number is mentioned in annex one(1).
When we are thinking about the small genome sequences, we must remember that we can connect those sequences, and make the more complicated sequence. The annex one handles the case, where the scientists CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)have created the synthetic ebola-viruses in the BL-4 laboratory. So that thing has proven, that the creation of artificial viruses and organisms is possible.
2) The long genome can involve the genetic code of the virus many times, which increases the level of the virus production
So those creatures would not be very complicated, but technology is advancing all the time. And also simple organisms can cause terrible diseases like Ebola-virus, the thing is that there are many types of Ebola-viruses and the length of the genome is different in every case.
The number of base pairs of Ebola is mentioned to be from 149-19 000(2)(3). But there are two ways to create artificial genomes. The thing is that the number of genomes doesn't affect the genomes of the viruses. That means that there might be many sequences that are involving the same genetic information. So this means that the long DNA or RNA-molecule of the virus can involve the code of virus in many times, and that thing makes viruses create descendants very fast.
3) How to make artificial viruses?
3.1) Inject viruses to the cells, what are connecting their genomes to viruses.
This methodology means that the viruses are injected into the cells, which is taken from some species. Then they would start to create descendants, what can be injected to the cells, what is taken from some other species, and again those cells can connect their genomes to viruses.
When we are thinking about this kind of methodology, it can be boosted by stressing viruses with the UV-light, which allows that only the strongest viruses can transfer their genomes to the next cell group. That means that the viruses, what genetic material is stable enough can create descendants. And this kind of chain would leave marks to the DNA or RNA molecule of the virus.
But it would be hard to prove that the virus is artificially engineered if there are no marks from the genome, what is from the animal, what is living in the other continent. This thing doesn't prove alone that the virus is created in a laboratory, but it would give a tip that this kind of action is possible.
3.2) Creating the artificial DNA or RNA molecule by using nanotechnology
So could the Ebola-virus be synthesized? In this case, I mean the natural- or so-called "original" version of Ebola. The thing is that the nanotechnology can create long genetic sequences, by connecting small bites of custom-made genetic material. And then that material could transfer to the cells.
The genomes of the natural organisms can be copied from databases, and then connect by using nanomachines. Or the base pairs can be connected randomly, and then the thing, how the artificial DNA effects to the cell would be tested. This thing needs more time than just copying the genomes of natural organisms. And it can be used to create fully synthetic genomes. There is an article below this text, where is this kind of claiming (4). There the number of genome-pairs of the Ebola is mentioned as 185 000 base pairs.
And the scientists have created DNA, where the length is 7500 base pairs. In that article is told that the only small custom bites or sequences of DNA or RNA, which has a length of 7500 base pairs can create in the laboratory.
3.2.1) But the thing is that those custom sequences can be connected. And that allows creating also complicated DNA or RNA-molecules.
That kind of thing is a very good possibility to create viruses. The nanomachines are effective tools for transferring the bases to the DNA, and the and the nanomachines can also put very long DNA-bite together, and then we can say that culturing viruses is different than refine it.
In the cases, where it is handled the possibility to create artificially made Ebola-viruses, the artificial virus is first produced in a laboratory, and then it would inject to cell cultures, where it would create the descendants. So when we are talking about things like artificially made viruses, we should mention are those viruses only cultured in some laboratory, and then somehow released to nature, or are they created by using nanotechnology.
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