Virus Basics

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• Viruses are strange things that are somehow in
  between being alive and not alive. If they're
  floating around in the air or sitting on a
  doorknob, they do absolutely nothing. They're
  about as alive as a rock. But if they come into
  contact with a suitable plant or animal cell,
  they spring into action. They infect and take
  over the cell like pirates hijacking a ship.
• As a virus cannot reproduce without using another
  creatures cells to help it, some people are not
  convinced that viruses are really living things.

• Virus Basics
• Viruses are the smallest type of microbe, even
  smaller than bacteria.
• Viruses are really the bad guys of the microbe
  world. They dont do anything that we would call
  good. (Only in the last few years have
  scientists come up with ways of making viruses do
  useful things for us)

This virus gives you a cold!
This virus gives you flu!
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• How They Get Around
• Unlike bacteria, viruses cant move themselves
  around.
• But once a virus has got into another creatures
  cell and used it to make new copies of itself,
  the cell bursts, and the new virus copies get
  shot off into the cells next door.
• What They Look Like
• There are thousands of types of virus that come
  in many shapes.
• Many have geometric shapes, like cut diamonds.
  Others are shaped like spiky eggs, skinny sticks
  or pieces of looped string. Some are more
  complicated and look like tiny spaceship landing
  pods.
• Viruses dont have a nucleus. Their DNA (genes)
  just floats around inside them. They arent
  really even proper cells.

Draw this simple one
This is a picture taken with a microscope,
showing a virus attacking a cell. Dont draw it
its too complicated.
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When you have a cold and you sneeze, the cold
virus is in the drops that shoot out of your nose
and mouth! If it lands on someone else, it gets
to work on them

• Where Theyre Found
• Viruses can be found almost everywhere! Theyre
  all over the planet, in soil, water and air, just
  waiting around for cells to infect.
• Viruses can infect every living thing. However,
  they tend to be picky about what type of cells
  they infect. Plant viruses do not infect animal
  cells, for example.

This virus hangs around in soil, and infects
wheat.
so use a tissue!
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ExtrasRead at
your own risk this may shock you!

• Viruses are Really, Really Tiny
• Even compared with bacteria (and your own cells),
  viruses are very small.
• Viruses dont just attack cells of humans, other
  animals, and plants. They even attack bacteria!
• If you lined up a million of them, they would
  only cover 1 mm in length!