Viruses

Viruses are small genetic programs that require host cells to replicate. The majority of common respiratory infections — including colds, bronchitis, and sinusitis — are viral in origin. Viruses have no cell wall, no independent metabolism, and no ability to generate energy — the biological targets that antibiotics act on. A virus enters a cell and causes the cell to run its genetic instructions. A virus is not technically alive but a cluster of genetic material that hijacks the host cell's energy and replication machinery to copy itself. Personalized cancer viruses are presented as technically plausible but constrained by delivery, safety, regulatory, and ethical problems. Antibiotics are appropriate only for bacterial infections and are never appropriate for viral ones. Oncolytic virology uses engineered or tuned viruses to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Engineered viruses can be modified to pursue desired biological outcomes rather than simply making more viruses.