4 thoughts on “Virology lecture #4: Structure of viruses”

  1. gsgs

    viruses are not exactly like houses, they are like …(make a poll)
    why angstroem, when we have nanometers
    why is there no structure inside the virus to stabilize the shell ? (walls,rooms in houses)
    why only icosahedrons, are dodecahedrons,… impossible in principle or were they once
    eliminated in the great intervirotic war
    how are these t=1,2,…facet-icosahedrons called in math ? I remember webpages where you can
    rotate all these shapes with the mouse , or virus-models from plastic or videos rotating them
    do viruses attach to each other to form polyicosahedra
    need an organized list of all known viruses (how many in total) with their properties and pictures
    when you say:”see here” , there is no pointer in the video
    hyperlinks to click while you talk would be nice
    http://viperdb.scripps.edu

  2. gsgs

    viruses are not exactly like houses, they are like …(make a poll)
    why angstroem, when we have nanometers
    why is there no structure inside the virus to stabilize the shell ? (walls,rooms in houses)
    why only icosahedrons, are dodecahedrons,… impossible in principle or were they once
    eliminated in the great intervirotic war
    how are these t=1,2,…facet-icosahedrons called in math ? I remember webpages where you can
    rotate all these shapes with the mouse , or virus-models from plastic or videos rotating them
    do viruses attach to each other to form polyicosahedra
    need an organized list of all known viruses (how many in total) with their properties and pictures
    when you say:”see here” , there is no pointer in the video
    hyperlinks to click while you talk would be nice
    http://viperdb.scripps.edu

  3. Pritesh

    Dr. Racaniello,

    Wonderful lecture !

    Few questions,
    So viral envelope is composed of glycoproteins, some of which are essential in attachment and entry. What else is envelope made of ? Lipid bilayer ..? and how similar is this lipid bilayer to mammalian cells or bacterial cell bilayer ?
    Also I read somewhere or may be in one of the TWiV's that envelope viruses cannot survive without the envelope. I see many antiviral compounds targeting the viral glycoprotein or corresponding cell receptor. But is there some significant work done of disrupting the viral envelope ?

    Thank you,
    Pritesh

  4. profvrr

    The viral envelope is derived from the mammalian host cell and is
    therefore very similar in composition, with the exception that most
    cellular membrane proteins are excluded from the viral envelope. Both
    bacterial and mammalian membranes are typical phospholipid bilayers,
    although the proteins embedded in them are different. For a novel
    antiviral compound that targets the viral envelope, see
    https://virology.ws/2010/02/18/an-antiviral-…

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