Author name: Vincent Racaniello

I'm Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University in New York. I run a research lab where we study poliovirus, rhinovirus, and other RNA viruses. I also love teaching about viruses - check out virology.ws, microbe.tv, or iTunes University for some of my offerings. I want to be Earth's virology professor.

Therapeutic teamwork: Coupling oncolytic viruses with immunotherapy to destroy tumor cells

This article was written for extra credit by a student in my recently concluded virology course. by Nayan Lamba A recent study by scientists at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy offers a new, multifaceted therapy for destroying tumors. A team of researchers led by Dmitriy Zamarin combined checkpoint blockade, a technique aimed at enhancing antitumor …

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Should variola virus, the agent of smallpox, be destroyed?

Later this month (May 2014) the World Health Assembly will decide whether to destroy the remaining stocks of variola virus – the agent of smallpox – or to allow continued research on the virus at WHO-approved laboratories. After the eradication of smallpox in 1980, the World Health Organization called for destruction of known remaining stocks …

Should variola virus, the agent of smallpox, be destroyed? Read More »

Virology question of the week: What matters more, multiplicity of infection or virus concentration?

This week’s question comes from a graduate student studying virology, who writes: My professor recently said that really, the MOI doesn’t matter in a culture, it is the concentration of viral particles in the media that matters. Ie: if you have 10 million cells or one cell, but you are infecting the plate with 5mL …

Virology question of the week: What matters more, multiplicity of infection or virus concentration? Read More »

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