A human rhinovirus in chimpanzees
An outbreak of respiratory disease in Ugandan chimpanzees provides insight into how virus infection can shape the genome and lead to differences in the cell receptor gene that regulate susceptibility to infection.
Basic virology
HPV vaccines do not encourage risky sexual behavior
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines save lives by preventing lethal cervical and anogenital cancers. If Henrietta Lacks had received an HPV vaccine, she would not have succumbed to cervical cancer. Yet not enough young men and women receive the vaccine. An obstacle to more widespread adoption of the HPV vaccine is that some parents …
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Metabolic manipulations in virus-infected cells
The large quantities of viral macromolecules and virus particles that are produced in an infected cell impose heavy demands on the host. Synthesis of the building blocks of a virus particle – nucleotides, amino acids, and sometimes fatty acids – requires energy, typically in the form of ATP. Synthesis of viral proteins and genomes, and …
A virus and a paradox in a 439 year old mummy
A study done in 1985 on a 16th century Italian mummy suggested that the two year old child had smallpox. Recent sequence analysis of tissues from the mummy now reveal the presence of hepatitis B virus, not smallpox virus. The sequence of the viral genome suggests that HBV entered the human population well before 1500.
Bodo saltans virus, an abundant giant aquatic Mimivirus
The discovery of Mimivirus in a French cooling tower amazed virologists and changed our view of the biology and evolution of giant viruses. Since then, many other giant viruses have been identified, and with three exceptions, they all appear to infect species of Acanthamoeba. Now a new member of the Mimivirus family has been discovered …
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Antibodies mediate severe dengue in humans
Severe dengue virus disease, also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS), is most likely to occur in previously infected individuals experiencing a second encounter with a different serotype. A specific range of serum antibody titers has been shown to enhance viral replication in cell culture and in animal models, and now in humans.