Talk:Virus (biology)
Images and templates removed during Big Cleanup
Image:t4bacteriophage.jpg|thumb|An artificially coloured electron micrograph of a bacteriophage]] Template:Details
Image:Tobacco_mosaic_virus_structure.png|center|thumb|200px|Diagram of a helical capsid
Image:Coronaviruses_004_lores.jpg|center|thumb|200px|Electron micrograph of icosahedral virions
Image:800px-HIV_Viron.png|thumb|center|200px|Diagram of enveloped HIV
Image:Tevenphage.png|thumb|center|200px|Diagram of a bacteriophage
Image:Polyomavirus_SV40_TEM_B82-0338_lores.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An electron micrograph of multiple polyomavirus virions
Image:Bacteriophage.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A falsely coloured electron micrograph of multiple bacteriophages
Image:Rotavirus_TEM_B82-0337_lores.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Multiple rotavirus virions
Image:Ebola_Virus_TEM_PHIL_1832_lores.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The helical Ebola virus
Image:Marburg_virions_TEM_275_lores.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Marburg virus
Image:Plaque_assay_macro.jpg|thumb|left|A viral plaque assay
Image:Polio_EM_PHIL_1875_lores.PNG|thumb|170px|right|The polio virus
Image:Reconstructed_Spanish_Flu_Virus.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The reconstructed 1918 influenza virus
discussion
David and Nancy, I noticed you got started on this article. What do you make of the assertion in the opening section that viruses do not have a cell membrane? This seems a bit misleading since they do have a membrane when outside the cellular environment. It may also be a circular argument since if they are not defined as cells they of course they cannot have a cell membrane. I have to admit i am in the camp that viruses are most certainly alive but represent a highly derived life form that is simplicity at its most elegant. Chris Day (Talk) 01:49, 12 December 2006 (CST) Italic text
discussion
There are several things that need fixing in this article, not counting typos: is metabolize metabolise for Brits (parasitised, fossilised)? First, prions are small protein fragments, so calling them virus-like particles seems dubious to me. Viruses cause an infection while prions cause protein aggregation (plaques). In the intro paragraph, mentioning the capsid, more should be explained about membrane proteins, envelope proteins and capsid proteins. Cells have cell membranes and some viruses have virus membrane proteins. Are cells dead because they lack viral membranes? The part about associating cancer with viruses should give credit to someone in the 1920s or so, I think, not the recent cervical cancer/virus studies. I would have to look that one up. The article often uses the word "as" when it should be "because". I've forgotten the other stuff and will need to re-read it again. --David E. Volk 17:14, 23 April 2007 (CDT)
discussion
Oh yes, there are more than four kinds of nucleic acids. Consider 3-stranded DNA for examples. --David E. Volk 17:18, 23 April 2007 (CDT)
discussion
"Most virologists consider them non-living, as they do not meet all the criteria of the generally accepted definition of life."
Where is this statement supported by evidence? Did someone poll all the virologists?--John J. Dennehy 09:24, 18 February 2008 (CST)