Using Genetics to make the Flu virus more deadly

The human genome is very complex, consisting of 23 pairs of chromosomes, that contain over 3 billion base pairs of DNA, that encode for over 20,000 genes. All 20,000 of these genes have a function, and allow us to perform our daily tasks. Just like humans, viruses also contain a genome, containing DNA that allows it to infect plants or animals, proliferate exponentially, and infect other cells. Unlike humans, viral genomes are small and simple since they infect host cells and use their host to carry out most daily functions.

A few years ago there was a deadly outbreak of the H5N1 subtype of the flu virus. The media referred to this highly-contagious and deadly strain of flu as the "bird flu" since it was only able to transmit from bird to bird. Even though this strain of flu could only infect birds, it was very deadly and caused a panic in people who feared that the virus could mutate rapidly into a highly-contagious and deadly HUMAN virus.

The H5N1 flu virus has 13,500 base pairs of genetic information, that encode for only 11 genes. So you can see, viruses are much less complex then humans. In fact, the genome is so small that scientists in labs can re-create the genome and use genetic tools to introduce mutations to change the gene functions of the 11 viral proteins.

Last year, a group of scientists who feared that this "bird flu" could easily cause a pandemic outbreak in humans, began to study the 11 H5N1 genes. They used genetic tools to introduce single base pair changes in the H5N1 genome. They found that by creating as little as 5 mutations in the virus they could create a virus that was capable of infecting mammals. Therefore, these scientists have used genetics to create a virus capable of causing a world-wide pandemic flu outbreak. 

If you want find out all the details to make your own deadly virus, the article can be found here:

Airborne Transmission of Influenza A/H5N1 Virus Between Ferrets 

Yes, these scientists have good intentions and won't release it into the population. However, these types of studies illustrate the power of genetic mutation and feasibility to create deadly pathogens/toxins to be used in terrorist or warfare attacks.

Finally, here is a little video from Hank with his interpretation of  the mutant flu. Enjoy!