Virolvlog meets TWiV
Islam Hussein of Virolvlog interviews me about my career in virology and my interests in communicating science, at ASM’s Microbe 2017 in New Orleans.
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Bodyguard manipulation by a virus
Host behavior alteration by viruses is known to assist the development of another organism. An example is a parasitoid wasp that injects viruses along with eggs into a caterpillar. The viral genomes encode proteins that subvert the caterpillar immune response, allowing the wasp larva to develop. A similar strategy may enable safe development of a …
Twenty-five lectures in virology for 2017
Every year I teach a virology course to undergraduates and masters students at Columbia University. I record video and audio of each of the twenty-five lectures and release them on YouTube – so that not only the students but the rest of the world can learn about the amazing field of virology. With the spring …
Flu and the Y chromosome
Disease and death caused by influenza virus are greater in human females than in males. But disease is more common in males from birth through age 15, after which more females are affected. In mice, genetic variation in the Y chromosome controls susceptibility to influenza virus infection (link to paper). Increased susceptibility does not correlate …
A different kind of remote control
Among the multitudes of eukaryotic viruses with DNA genomes, some replicate in the cell nucleus, while others avoid the nuclear bureaucracy and remain in the cytoplasm. But biology is not always so rigid: a new giant virus has been found that replicates in the cytoplasm, where it seems to recruit components of the nuclear transcription machinery …
Intestinal dysbiosis in ME/CFS patients
The microbes that live on and in us provide a host of functions that are essential for our health. Changes in the composition of these microbial communities correlate with a variety of disease states. Results of a new study (link) reveal altered populations of intestinal bacteria and metabolic disturbances in ME/CFS patients. The study subjects were …