• Question: How do germs form? Why are they so dangerous to our DNA?

    Asked by 372radg49 to Reka, Kate, Ajay, Kuntal, Pip on 10 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by maizy, Fiya, BOB???, nami123, ashu2005.
    • Photo: Reka Nagy

      Reka Nagy answered on 10 Nov 2016:

      Germs is just another name for things that can make us ill – such as bacteria and viruses.
      Bacteria are living organisms just like us, while with viruses, it’s a bit more complicated – we don’t know whether we can really consider them to be ‘alive’, because to be alive, an organism needs to be able to make copies of itself. Viruses can’t copy themselves without hijacking the cells of other organisms.

      While some germs can damage our DNA and make us sick this way (some types of viruses, such as the HIV virus that causes AIDS, has been linked to certain types of cancer), most of them actually cause illness through other means!

Comments