Virology lecture #3: Genomes and genetics
Download: .wmv (333 MB) | .mp4 (75 MB) Visit the virology W3310 home page for a complete list of course resources.
Basic virology
Virology lecture #2: The infectious cycle
Download: .wmv (348 MB) | .mp4 (116 MB) Visit the virology W3310 home page for a complete list of course resources.
Koch’s postulates in the 21st century
For thousands of years, epidemics of contagious diseases were believed to be caused by the wrath of the gods, configuration of stars, or miasma. The association of specific microorganisms with disease came about as a consequence of the work of the German physician Robert Koch. He formulated a set of criteria that could be used …
Virology lecture #1: What is a virus?
Larger versions: .wmv (612 MB) | .mp4 (87 MB) Visit the virology W3310 home page for a complete list of course resources.
A new virology course at Columbia University
Tomorrow is the start of my new virology course at Columbia University. The course, Biology W3310, is aimed at advanced undergraduates and will be taught at the Morningside Campus of Columbia University. Columbia University encompasses two principal campuses: the historic, neoclassical campus in the Morningside Heights neighborhood and the modern Medical Center further uptown, in …
Bornavirus DNA in the mammalian genome
The chromosomal DNA of several mammals has been found to contain sequences related to the nucleoprotein (N) gene of bornaviruses, enveloped viruses with a negative-strand RNA genome. I am amazed by this finding. How did bornaviral DNA get in our chromosomes, and what is it doing there? A search of the human genome sequence revealed DNA …