So I've studied a bit of virology in the past, and would like to apply it to speculate on climax of the first episode of Kabaneri and the Iron Fortress.In doing so I'll provide some background on how viruses function in real life and debunk a few assumptions of what exactly happened in Episode 1 with respect to real-life viral mechanisms.**Any comments providing further speculation and constructive criticism toward how I could improve this post would be greatly appreciated! I'm also considering making a Youtube video on the subject, so suggestions/recommendations toward that end (or why it would be a poor course of action) are also of great use!And needless to say, upvoting and/or sharing this post would really help broaden the kind of conversations it can prompt!**"Is this virus like that Cordyceps "virus" I heard about in The Last of Us?"Regarding cordyceps, it's not actually a virus, but a parasitic fungal infestation of sorts. It has been popularized as "viral" in the pop-culture sense by the Last of Us, though.What are Viruses? What do they do?Strictly speaking, "virus" doesn't refer to anything that happens to enter and/or "take over" the body (in a nervous system sense). It has a bit more strict of a definition - it's basically a protein-encased DNA molecule with specialized structures on the protein casing ("Capsid") that let it make use of a cell's receptors meant for other structures in order to enter them (not unlike getting into a bar by using a sibling's ID, for instance.)Viruses aren't these "grand conspirators" that make their way toward the brain to eventually gain control over the entire body (well, they're non-sentient and technically non-living, but you know what I mean). They're a bit more selfish and simple in their 'thinking". A single viral molecule "wants" to infect a single cell and make more of itself. The only coordination between separate molecules of the same virus is the fact that more of them replicating in the body means they spread through the body faster as a whole. The goal of a virus isn't really to preserve the host for as long as possible to stick around (though that may happen situationally). The "goal" is just to spread extremely fast. More often than not, this short-sighted pursuit kills the host before too long.It's also worth noting that ALL viruses happen to be parasitic by necessity - they don't have any "equipment" to replicate on their own. However, they "take over" a body at the cellular level, not strictly at the nervous system level (which itself is just a collection of specialized neuronal cells). Once a virus is "inside" a cell (which really refers to its genetic material being injected into a cell), said material "reprograms" the cell to forcibly allocate all of its resources to creating more new viruses. The viral DNA is used to produce the "body" of the virus (Capsid, tail, etc.) and then the DNA is itself replicated. Once all the parts are complete, they're assembled until there're so many within the cell that they burst from it (this is called "lysis").Why did Ikomo's body turn purple?The purple colouration of Ikomo's skin could either signify massive internal bleeding, agglutination (blood clotting), or necrosis. A fourth "wildcard" option is that the production of new viral particles is accompanied by the production of a purple pigment or similar substance. As cells burst from viral lysis, this substance could spread and darken the skin. If it's produced in sufficient quantities, it could take relatively few cells lysing to colour large portions of the epidermis (since the substance could act as a stain for the cell membranes of Ikomo's epidermal cells).So now the specifics concerning this episode. Ikomo's body turning purple is indeed probably an indication of his individual cells being "infected" with the virus. It's worth noting that if it entered his bloodstream via that bite and results in purple colouration of the epidermis, then either the virus only affects the epidermis and surface blood vessels immediately following the initial bite, or the virus has extremely generalized targeting. That is, the structures it has to enter cells must be extremely common if it's able to enter every single cell in his body (which would also cause that continuous purple colour along his body). Since cutting circulation seems to have slowed it down, it appears the virus also didn't spread between adjacent cells (at least, not primarily, whereas in real life adjacent cell "transfer" is the primary means of viral spreading - a cell bursts and the viruses enter adjacent cells like shrapnel from an explosion piercing those in the immediate vicinity). The virus evidently favoured going from the bloodstream to surrounding tissue.Why did Ikomo's skin revert to normalcy after he choked himself?Now the issue of it magically "disappearing". I personally don't think that stone on Ikomo's hand did it - it's probably a charm belonging to that girl who died 5 years ago. It may have more significance later, though. I've heard some speculate that the "virus" can't survive in the body unless it specifically infects the brain, which technically makes no sense. If it entered the other cells of his body at all it's already clear it can survive in non-neuronal cells. And if the end result of the virus reaching the brain is to become a Kabane, then evidently neurons are just one of the many cells the virus infects.I mentioned four possible reasons for the purple colouration of Ikomo's skin. Part of it could've been blood clotting from when he cauterizes his arm with the burning stake, as well as internal bleeding from the brace nailed to his shoulder. That said, we can't see his arm under those belts after the virus "leaves", and he can still move it even with those belts, so odds are his blood didn't clot. He would probably also be dead if those bolts through his shoulder triggered significant internal bleeding.Widespread necrosis also seems unlikely. A cell that has died cannot simply "revert" to life, so all those purple cells would not have gone back to normal post-asphyxiation. And again, if all the purple on Ikomo's arm (to begin with) was necrotic tissue, odds are he would either be unable to move it, or his skin would've been torn off by the belt and his movements to control the device that choked him.This leaves the "wildcard" situation (which, as I'm well-aware, can feel like a cop-out). Death of some cells during viral infection and replication is expected. But the death of these cells doesn't have be so large-scale that it causes necrotic tissue formation. All you need is for the virus to produce a purple bi-product as part of its replicative cycle. As each infected cell is lysed, this substance would be dispersed to surround and/or temporarily stain the adjacent cells, particularly if this purple substance is granular in nature and more voluminous than the viral molecules. This would result in the spread of the purple colour alongside the spread of the viral molecules, but with fewer instances of lysis than would be required to form that much purple skin via necrotic tissue.If the viral replicative activity is halted somehow, this purple substance would cease to increase in concentration and could be diluted by bodily fluids (such as osmotic water currents or the cytoplasm itself) to the point where the purple colour isn't visible at the level of the skin's surface. Odds are your liver isn't going to like having to process whatever it is, though.Where did the virus go? Could it be dormant?It could indeed be dormant. Viruses exhibit two specific lifestyles: "Lytic" and "Lysogenic". The Lytic Cycle is what I mentioned before, where viruses go from cell to cell, making copies of themselves and blowing up the host cell so they can spread to other cells. However, some viruses can enter the "Lysogenic Cycle" when conditions are inadequate for their replication. In this cycle, the DNA that was injected into the host cell just integrates with the host's own DNA and lays dormant. This DNA may lay dormant simply until conditions for replications improve, or when a certain trigger activates it. I suppose if Ikomo was asphyxiating himself to that extent, not only did he prevent the virus from reaching his brain, but the oxygen deprivation (coupled with the sheet trauma of burning his arm with the stake and nailing that brace through his shoulder) might've prompted the virus to enter the Lysogenic Cycle (albeit EXTREMELY fast compared to real-life). With all the cells reverting to their original colour, presumably whatever materials the virus constructed inside the cell weren't sufficient enough to remain in the cells without the viral DNA actively continuing to produce them, hence why the purple colouring promptly disappeared. If this virus DID enter the lysogenic cycle when Ikomo inflicted trauma onto his own body, the virus might remain dormant in his body and sporadically activate again sometime in the future, perhaps in response to a trigger of some sort.Could Ikomo be immune to the virus now?The way vaccines work might also suggest Ikomo has developed immunity to the virus after this incident (since vaccines generally work by exposing someone to a weak strain of a virus so their white blood cells are exposed to the viruses specialized "cell entry" proteins and able to create special Killer T cells to destroy the viruses). Though, those Kabane bites still rip out quite a bit of flesh.What's the deal with the iron cages over the Kabane hearts? Wait, there's iron in... blood, right?Indeed there is! Notice that the Kabane's blood vessels glow orange when infected, as does the heart. This colour change suggests a fundamental difference in the composition of the blood. Furthermore, the heart at the very least is surrounded by that iron cage. What's curious is that red blood cells technically can't be infected by viruses - a red blood cell has no DNA of its own nor structures that a virus could use to make more of itself. However, what red blood cells DO have is iron - the hemoglobin protein associated with the cells picks up iron in the presence of oxygen, which gives the blood its red colour. I'd like to think the iron in the blood is co-opted en masse to form that iron covering over the heart. The fact the virus seems to (at least, primarily if not exclusively) go from the blood to the cells, rather than from cell to cell, also implies it somehow adheres to or "hitches a ride" on the red blood cells, which isn't unprecedented (again, they just can't use the RBCs themselves to replicate). So clearly this virus has an unusual affinity for binding with hemoglobin (and potentially directing the deposition of the iron carried on it).So hopefully this post gives you a better vantage point from which to explore both real-world biology, and the world of the show alongside the premise on which it is built. So far the concept feels like a really cool intersection between mechanical and technological science, which also sort of mirrors the juxtaposition between the kabane (cold, metallic beings built around lifeforms) and the humans (who are -meant- to be warmer and more dynamic). The need for practical new innovations in technology and practice is clearly in conflict with efforts to maintain the (now apparently-forgotten) tradition of humanity (that is, being humane). http://ift.tt/1qfZOh6
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