Scientists have developed antibiotics that destroy the cell walls of some cells. This medicine works really well on bacteria. Would it work well on viruses?
a
No, because viruses only have plasma membranes
b
No, because viruses are not made up of cells and lack a cell wall
c
Yes, because viruses and bacteria have the same structure
d
Yes, because viruses and bacteria both make people sick
b
No, because viruses are not made up of cells and lack a cell wall
b
No, because viruses are not made up of cells and lack a cell wall
The correct answer is b. No, the antibiotic that destroys cell walls would not work well on viruses because viruses do not have cell walls.
To arrive at this answer, we need to understand the basic structure of bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are living organisms that are made up of cells. They have a cell wall, which is a rigid layer surrounding their cell membrane. Antibiotics that target the cell wall can effectively destroy bacteria by disrupting their cell wall structure.
On the other hand, viruses are different from bacteria. They are not made up of cells and do not have a cell wall. Instead, viruses consist of genetic material, such as DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid. Some viruses may also have an outer envelope made up of lipids (fat).
Since viruses lack cell walls, antibiotics that target cell walls would have no effect on them. In fact, treating viral infections usually requires a different approach, such as antiviral medications that specifically target different stages of the virus's life cycle.