Ummm... You know if you think about that too much... it's actually not a bad analogy...
So we talked about viral replication (see below), diseases caused by viruses, parasites and hosts (especially the fact that most viruses can only infect one kind of cell, for example, the rabies virus can only infect the nerve cells of certain mammals - did you know that there are no rabid squirrels?), and how viruses spread.
We also talked about our bodies response to viruses (interferon: immediate, general, but weakly effective, WBCs: 1 week, specific, effective, and antibodies: 2 weeks, specific, highly effective). We also talked about vaccines and (my personal favorite, and the clinically proven BEST way to avoid colds and other communicable diseases) hand washing/hand sanitizer.
And we made fun virus models from machine screws, wire nuts and wire!
Here is a great explanation of viral replication, although it's a bit more detailed than what I did with my class:
2 comments:
No rabid squirrels? Then WHAT is going to take over the world?
I'm seriously disappointed.
I only know that fact because I had an apparently rabid squirrel clawing at my screens trying to get into my house. I called animal control and they told me squirrels couldn't get rabies (and they had no intention of providing further assistance).
Since this was the most obviously rabid animal I had ever seen, I didn't believe them!
But, I had three online sources verify that squirrels are immune to rabies, so I finally went outside (wearing as much protective gear as possible!) and discovered there was a cat trying to get at the baby squirrels nesting in our carport.
The mother, evidently, was just going crazy trying to get us to come chase the cat away...
So, never fear, the squirrels don't need rabies because they're already crazy and they'll be taking over the world very soon now.
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