virology - attempts to show hijack for replication - Ari Helenius

Steven Avery

Administrator

Christina Quatrano We did not have 5 years. They accelerated the timeline because of necessity. And actually, the timeline was more like…TEN years.

What had to happen was herd immunity, which happens naturally or by human intervention or both. The best and most efficacious health mechanism was to isolate, which me and my wife did to the best we could. This did not mean total isolation from “congregating” which is the HH term. But it did mean to isolate reasonably with no social intercourse especially…of a casual nature. Masks, distancing, and separation is a function HH already implemented, by “isolating from the world.”

Steven Avery <<You can ask AI specifically what experiments proved this theory. The time would be c. 1955.

Virus hijacking

Q: Where was it proven, the theory that these dead/inactive “viruses” could enter cells and ** hijack cell functions for replication. **
The theory that viruses are "inactive" or "non-living" chemical entities that enter cells to hijack their functions was established through a series of key discoveries in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Because viruses cannot replicate independently, they are often described as being in a state between chemistry and life—chemically inert until they interact with a host cell. [1, 2, 3, 4]
📜 Key Milestones in Proof
The transition from viewing viruses as "living poisons" to "molecular hijackers" occurred across several decades:
Discovery of Non-Bacterial Pathogens (1892–1898): Dmitri Ivanovsky and Martinus Beijerinck proved that the cause of tobacco mosaic disease was smaller than bacteria and could not be grown on artificial media, leading Beijerinck to call it a "contagium vivum fluidum" (living fluid germ).
The "Inert Chemical" Proof (1935): Wendell Stanley successfully crystallized the Tobacco Mosaic Virus, demonstrating it was a stable chemical structure rather than a living cell. This earned him a Nobel Prize and shifted the scientific consensus toward viewing viruses as complex, non-living chemicals.
Proof of DNA/RNA Hijacking (1952): The Hershey-Chase experiment proved that only the DNA of a virus (a bacteriophage) enters a cell to direct the production of new viruses, confirming that viral genetic material "hijacks" the cell's internal machinery.

Endocytosis Mechanism (1980): Research by Ari Helenius and colleagues proved that viruses evolved to exploit the cell's own transport systems (like endocytosis) to move into the cytoplasm and initiate replication. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

🧬 Hijacking "Dead" Viral Remnants
Recent science has expanded this to include Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs)—ancient viral fragments that have been "dead" or inactive in the human genome for millions of years. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Human Genome Presence: Roughly 8% of human DNA consists of these ancient viral remnants.
Functional Hijacking: While mostly inactive, these sequences can be "re-awakened" to hijack cell functions, contributing to cellular aging (senescence), inflammation, and diseases like cancer or neurodegeneration.
Viral Eukaryogenesis: One theory suggests the very origin of complex (eukaryotic) cells occurred when an ancient virus hijacked a bacterium, eventually evolving into the cell's nucleus. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] – Google AI.

So no...1955 was not when these theories began.
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
ON THE ENTRY OF SEMLIKI FOREST VIRUS INTO BHK-21 CELLS by Ari Helenius - did that paper provide proof that viruses replicate by hijacking cell replication

On the entry of Semliki Forest virus into BHK-21 cells by Ari Helenius et al. (1980) provided key proof that viruses use endocytosis to enter cells, not by injecting their genome directly through the surface, a process later characterized as hijacking host cell trafficking mechanisms.

Key findings related to this include:
  • Endocytic Pathway: The study showed that the virus is internalized via coated pits and vesicles.
  • pH-Dependent Fusion: The virus is then transported to intracellular vacuoles (lysosomes/endosomes) where the low pH triggers the viral membrane to fuse with the host membrane, releasing the viral genome.
  • Host Mechanism Hijacking: The paper demonstrated that viruses exploit the cell's natural, existing trafficking and recycling mechanisms to gain entry into the cytoplasm. [1, 2, 3, 4]
While this paper primarily focused on the entry mechanism, it established the framework for understanding how Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) hijacks host cellular processes to initiate infection. [1, 2, 3]
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
May 6, 2026

Greetings from Steven Avery in Dutchess County, NY USA.

Your 1980 paper
ON THE ENTRY OF SEMLIKI FOREST VIRUS INTO BHK-21 CELLS

Is sometimes connected with the theory that dead/inactive viruses can enter cells and then hijack their functions for replication. However, the paper actually seems to focus on cell entry, not the more amazing hijacking aspect.

And I am trying to find out when this theoretical ability of viruses was actually demonstrated and proved scientifically, rather than just being accepted and then supported by the circularity of acceptance. It is rather an extraordinary capability, and even more so when one virus is said to infect a variety of host cells.

When I looked at the papers on the "Great Moments of Virology" they would leave out any discovery and proof of the cell hijacking theory.

Are you able to point to any specific experiments when this theoretical capability became scientific experimental fact?

Any help appreciated!

Thanks!

Steven
 
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