27. USING A TRIO-BASED GENETIC DESIGN FOR INVESTIGATING THE AETIOLOGY OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

Abstract

Three fundamental pillars for the understanding of virus variation and population dynamics are Darwinian principles, quantum mechanical uncertainties at the atomic level, and internal interactions and network connections among components of an ensemble. In this closing chapter, such general pillars are applied to non-viral systems, in particular prokaryotic and eukaryotic cellular collectivities, and non-genetic systems such as prions. Similarities and differences in the behavior of viruses and cells are analyzed with regard to adaptive molecular mechanisms and consequences for disease treatment. In particular, differences between antiviral resistance and antibiotic resistance, and the possibility of a lethal mutagenesis approach for cancer are examined in the light of concepts exposed in previous chapters for viruses. Clonality in cellular and viral evolution is discussed, with the focus in a distinction between inconsequential and biologically meaningful recombination in the infectious cycles of viruses. The chapter ends with some general considerations on network connections in biological and non-biological systems, with the possibility that the understanding of interactions within viral populations may open new windows for antiviral interventions.