Differences (or similarities)?

Question

What are/is the difference between a virus and germs?
ie. If a germ were big enough (or I had a hammer small enough) I could hit it and kill it, what about a virus?
Dictionary is not very helpful

This is more interesting than I thought.

Would a virus seek out particular cells or are they completely indiscrimnate in that they'll go for the nearest, as it were?

If virus's are cell specific can you (in theory at least) create a virus or use a virus to destroy selected cells?

Answer 1

'Germ' is an everyday term for all types of micro-organisms that can cause illness or disease. They would include bacteria, viruses, certain types of fungi.

If you had a small enough hammer then yes you could hit each bacterium one by one abd kill them. However, they grow rapidly so you would have to be quick and hit them all. Also, even though you had killed them with your hammer that could cause the release of certain chemicals that would still cause illness.

Viruses are a catergory appart because there are arguments to show that they are not proper living organisms. They consist of proetins and nucleic acid and cause infection by getting inside a host cell and using its 'equipment' to multply. So if you had a very very small hammer you would have to hit all of the viruses before they got inside a host cell. You would also have to hit them hard enough to break up the protein and nucleic acid into very small bits that could cause no harm themselves.

Additional info. Viruses tend to be cell specific. That is they infect just one type of cell or a limited number of types. This is because they enter a cell by combining with cell surface receptors as the first step.

Answer 2

Germs is kind of a broad word. When you say germs youre talking about the stuff that you pick up on door knobs and pretty much anywhere else. "Germs" consist of many different types of organisms but they can be divided into two large categories. Bacteria and Viruses. Bacteria can be treated and this is usually done through antibiotics, Viruses on the other hand are not usually treated directly and most medications are given to alleviate symptoms of the disease process.

In short on the treatment processes

Bacteria is treated with antibiotics. This kills the Bacteria.

Viruses in most cases are not treated, we treat the symptoms and are forced to watch the disease run its course (Chicken Pox, Hepatitis etc...) Hopefully once the disease has run its course it is Supressed by the immune system and forced into a kind of dormant state. It is kept in check by the immune system unless the immune system is compromised and then the virus may run its course again.

Answer 3

Germs are bacteria. Little cells that live and eat things and produce more of themselves by splitting in twain (et al.).
You could mash one up with a hammer, yeah.
Viruses were once strictly believed to be not alive, because our definition of life only applies to cells (once you set a narrow definition of life, any life you run across which does not fit the definition is not, by definition, "alive"). Viruses are more like a crystaline packet in which sits a self-propagating genetic code. The code gets inserted into larger organisms, it hijacks the host organism's metabolic processes to do it's bidding (creating more virus phages (a single packet)), and then kills the cell(s) used to make the phages so to release them. Killing a virus with a hammer ...could... happen. Once you remove the genetic material from the phage packet, it is "harmless," but it can be taken up by other phages and rendered active again.

Answer 4

a germ is a microbe, microorganism (especially one which causes disease); sprout, bud; beginning stage in development; origin, starting point x. a microorganism, especially one which causes disease, a portion of an organism capable of developing into a new one or part of one, the embryo in a cereal grain or other plant seed, an initial stage from which something may develop: the germ of a brilliant idea.

virus is a submicroscopic infective particle, typically consisting of nucleic acid coated in protein, which can multiply only within the cells of a host organism. ▶an infection or disease caused by such an agent, (also computer virus) a piece of code surreptitiously introduced into a system in order to corrupt it or destroy data.
I hope this helps you.
jhledik