• Question: do cells hold dieseases

    Asked by emmabean to Gina, Callum, Katie, Sam on 17 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by livi.
    • Photo: Gina Tse

      Gina Tse answered on 17 Nov 2012:


      Hi Emma,

      This is a quite a complicated question because disease can come from all sorts of things; viruses, bacteria or even from our own cells not working properly. A disease is anything that causes a someone discomfort, pain or even death!

      In some cases, people can get genetic disorders. These are changes to a person’s DNA which makes them poorly for some reason or other.This would have happened when the person was first made- the sperm and egg from their parents had fused and their DNA was mixed together. So either the mum or dad gave them a faulty bit of DNA. So from this you could technically say their cells had a disease in them.

      But infectious diseases such colds, flus and so on are passed on from person to person through bacteria and viruses being left on surfaces and hands.

      Our body is a clever thing and we have an immune system to protect us. So when we’re fit and healthy it is very unlikely a diseased cell in our body would last long before for defenses get rid of it!

    • Photo: Sam Godfrey

      Sam Godfrey answered on 22 Nov 2012:


      Hi Emma

      Gina’s answer is very good and I’d just add that some viruses, like herpes and syphilis can live in your cells undetected for a very long time. Then when you are feeling run down or getting old, the virus attacks again and the disease can be seen.

    • Photo: Callum Johnston

      Callum Johnston answered on 22 Nov 2012:


      Hi Emma and Livi,

      I would say yes cells do hold diseases! Like Gina said genetic diseases are caused by the DNA inside your cells, DNA is like the instruction book for making life, the proteins that are made from it all have jobs inside the cell. If the DNA is faulty the protein is made wrong, or there is too much or too little of it made. This means it doesn’t do its job properly in the cell and that can cause diseases. Cystic fibrosis is a common genetic disease where one protein isn’t made properly and it therefore can’t do its job of controlling fluids within cells. The patients end up not growing as well as normal and having lots of extra mucus in their lungs.

      Other diseases are caused by nasty microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites). When these get into the body they are able to use the body for heat and food and can replicate many times until they can take over the part of the body they are living in, killing the cells around them and hence making us ill.

    • Photo: Katie Howe

      Katie Howe answered on 22 Nov 2012:


      Hi emma and livi!

      Not all cells hold diseases but a lot of cells definitely can. For example in malaria, a mosiquito bites a human and parasite from the mosquito infects the body. This can then live in the humans liver cells and can multiply within them. The parasites then get into the red blood cells and can lead to all sorts of nasty symptoms.

      As the other guys said though genetic diseases are held within the DNA of the cell (which is in the nucleas). Malaria is a bit different as the disease comes from outside the cell.

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