By – Ayi Trisna Wijayanti & Inamul Haq
The world is engulfed in fighting the pandemic virus namely Covid 19 that emerged from Wuhan city of China. However, the Chinese government got successful in its control by using different means. While like the rest of the world is fighting in its ways. However, all individuals need to understand why the virus kills us.
The answer to that question is the same as the answer to why we kill chickens, goat, sheep, fish, bean sprouts, and so on. If you are serious about that question, you also have to seriously think about how life works.
Are you aware that for one species to live, there must be another creature that dies or is killed? Realize that we humans are just a species of living organisms. We belong to a large group of animals. The most important characteristic of animals is that they do not produce their food. That is, he does not produce food for his own body. Different from plants. Most plants do not require food supplies from other living organisms.
Take a look at the plate of food you eat every day. How many types of living organisms die so that a plate of food can be served on your plate? There are thousands of grains of rice. Grains of rice are prospective living organisms that should grow into thousands of rice plants. On a piece of tofu that you eat hundreds of soybeans should be hundreds of soy trees. At the same time, millions of mushrooms growing among the soybean seeds that come to die when you fry.
Of course fried chicken, fish, etc. that you eat are mere living organisms. They all must die so that we all humans can survive. That’s not how much. There are many more killings that we must do so we can survive. To build the house where we live, also build roads and cities, there are so many plants that must die. At the same time, there are thousands of animals that must also die because they lost their nests to live
But don’t be sad. We are not the only creatures that get rid of other creatures for life. If you look at the forest, at first glance it seems calm and quiet, but there is also a competition in life. Many small plants must die because they don’t get enough sunlight, they are covered by the leaves of large trees. Conversely, the large number of trees that died undermined by small parasites. There are even many large trees that are killed by fungi and bacteria. Of course in the forest, we will easily find plant-eating animals or other animal-predators.
to live, one living creature often preys on other living creatures even though there are times when they can live in mutualism, they support each other in all living aspects
Back to the original question, why do viruses kill us? The answer is simple because they want to “live” and grow alive. The word life for a virus is written in quotation marks because biologically the virus does not even qualify to be called as a living creature.
Viruses do not have cells. It is known that The cell is the smallest unit of life. But even though they are not considered as living organisms, viruses generated their self as what living organisms do. To be able to reproduce, a virus hitches a ride on the cells of living organisms. Humans are not the only victims of the virus. Viruses hitch a ride on all kinds of living things. Animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria are the target for viruses to ride in to live.
So, humans are not exclusive targets for viruses. Viruses only have nucleic acids (DNA / RNA) which can multiply themselves. To be able to reproduce itself, the virus requires the ability of cells to produce proteins.
DNA / RNA is a kind of program that orders cells to produce the types of proteins that cells need to live. Viruses only have programs, or software, to order products, but do not have production machines. Therefore, he must hitch a ride to the cell. Viruses enter the cells of living things, take control, use the production functions of the cell, all to multiply themselves.
The virus enters our body cells through open places, such as the mouth, nose, eyes, or exposed skin. Some are inserted by animals such as mosquitoes into our bodies through bites. They look for cells as a place where they can attach themselves. The cells that are used as binding sites are called receptors. Then the virus enters the cell.
Once inside, it hijacks various cell functions, orders the production of proteins it wants, to support itself. Viruses then multiply their self. Cells that are filled with the virus then rupture, then the virus hitches a ride on the cell lender from the cell, to move to another cell, then control it. Or, it comes out of the human body then looked for an opportunity to enter another body.
What is the essence of all the processes? Viruses are carrying out the most basic functions of all beings in the universe, which is to multiply their species. All living organisms also do that. When doing it, they also make other creatures die.
Nothing more and nothing less.
