This is not virology, but it is nonetheless fascinating. Archaeologists have found fossilized human feces in a cave in Oregon. The fossils, called coprolites, are just over 14,000 years old. In addition, DNA analysis indicates that they contain human DNA, and furthermore indicate origins from Siberia and East Asia. This discovery is consistent with the …
According to ProMED mail, Chikungunya is rapidly spreading in Sri Lanka. Chikungunya virus is a togavirus in the alphavirus genus. The infection is spread by mosquitos, mainly Aedes aegypti. The viral disease has been known for more than 50 years in the tropics and savannahs of developing countries of Asia and Africa, but never has …
On 2 March 2008 the New York Times ran an article entitled “More Families are Shunning Inoculations“. With states requiring more immunizations, parents are using religious exemptions to refuse the vaccines. And why would these parents wish to risk that their children contract potentially fatal diseases, such as polio, measles, and pneumonia, which can be …
From the February 29 2008 issue of Science comes yet another article on the H5N1 strain of influenza virus. This is the strain that is quite virulent in birds, and which has infected some humans, causing concerns about an imminent pandemic. Not all scientists believed the bird flu hype. As I wrote previously, Peter Palese, …
From the January 2008 issue of Microbe: “Well more than 99% of microbes from the environent do not thrive in culture and, historically, remain uncharacterized”. This is an astounding statistic. We only work on what we can propagate, naturally. But many microbes could be adapted to grow in culture, given time and effort. The potential …
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” –Albert Einstein During the holiday season, you might think it insensitive to post such a quotation. But as the end of the year approaches, I cannot help but remember all the stupid things my fellow species has done, and …
