If you want to understand life on Earth, you need to know about viruses.
We have reached the halfway point in my 2016 Columbia University undergraduate virology course. So far we have learned the basics of virus replication: how viruses enter cells, how the genome is reproduced, and how proteins are made and assembled into new virus particles. In the second half of the course, we will consider how viruses cause disease, how immune responses prevent infection, vaccines, antivirals, emergence of new viruses, and much more.
All of my lectures are recorded as videos and available freely on YouTube. Below is a list of the first thirteen lectures, with links to the YouTube videos. You can also subscribe to the videos at iTunes University. If you would like copies of the lecture slides and study questions, go to virology.ws/course.
Lecture 1: What is a virus?
Lecture 2: The infectious cycle
Lecture 3: Genomes and genetics
Lecture 4: Structure
Lecture 5: Attachment and entry
Lecture 6: RNA directed RNA synthesis
Lecture 7: Transcription and RNA processing
Lecture 8: DNA replication
Lecture 9: Reverse transcription and integration
Lecture 10: Translation
Lecture 11: Assembly
Lecture 12: Infection basics
Lecture 13: Intrinsic and innate defenses