👉 Viruses employ a sophisticated and insidious weapon to propagate and infect host cells: their genetic material, either DNA or RNA, which they package within a protein coat called a capsid. This genetic material encodes the instructions necessary for viral replication, while the capsid protects it from environmental threats. However, viruses lack the machinery to replicate independently; they hijack host cell processes, forcing the cell to produce new viral components. This manipulation often leads to cellular damage or death and allows the virus to assemble new virions, which are then released to infect other cells. This strategy of hijacking cellular machinery and exploiting it for replication is a potent weapon that enables viruses to spread efficiently and evade host defenses.
