Basic virology

Jeffrey Almond on vaccine development

Dr. Jeffrey Almond began his career as an academic virologist studying influenza virus, then moved to poliovirus. He made major contributions to our understanding of the molecular basis of poliovirus attenuation and reversion to virulence. After 20 years in academics he moved to Sanofi Pasteur, where he is currently Vice President, discovery research and external …

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Inadvertent transfer of a mammalian retrovirus into birds

Reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs) are retroviruses that cause a rare disease of gamebirds and waterfowl that includes anemia, immunosuppression, neoplasia, runting, and abnormal feathering. Since the first isolation of REV from a turkey in 1957, REVs were believed to be strictly avian viruses. It now appears that REVs are mammalian viruses that were accidentally introduced into …

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Part of MERS-CoV nucleotide sequence found in a bat

What is wrong with this paragraph from today’s New York Times that describes the origin of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus: Health officials confirmed Wednesday that bats in Saudi Arabia were the source of the mysterious virus that has sickened 96 people in the Middle East, killing 47 of them. Here is the …

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Virologists plan influenza H7N9 gain of function experiments

A group of virologists lead by Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Ron Fouchier have sent a letter to Nature and Science outlining the experiments they propose to carry out with influenza H7N9 virus. Avian influenza H7N9 virus has caused over 130 human infections in China with 43 fatalities. The source of the virus is not known but …

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