Three years ago today, on 13 January 2011, the last case of poliomyelitis was reported in India. This achievement represents a remarkable turnaround for a country where control of the disease had for years been extremely difficult. As recently as 2009 there were 741 confirmed cases of polio caused by wild-type virus in India. Being …
On episode #267 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich and Kathy review a protease essential for influenza pathogenesis in mice, and directionality of rhinovirus RNA exit from the capsid. You can find TWiV #267 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
At LORiOLA you will find hand sculpted glass beads and jewelry by Lori Flanders. As pointed out by artist Michelle Banks, some of Lori’s necklaces appear to be made with virus particles, as you can see in the photograph to the left. That necklace is called ‘infectious‘. I asked Lori whether she drew inspiration from …
Neuraminidase is one of three different viral proteins embedded in the lipid membrane of influenza virus (NA is blue in the illustration at left). This enzyme has a clear and proven role in virus release from cells. NA is also believed to be important during virus entry, by degrading the mucus barrier of the respiratory …
Cutting through mucus with the influenza virus neuraminidase Read More »
On episode #266 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Kathy discuss finding viruses in outer space, varying results obtained from personal genetic testing, and depletion of CD4 cells during HIV infection by pyroptosis. You can find TWiV #266 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
