Although we now understand that viruses are the most abundant organisms on Earth, there are gaps in our knowledge about their distribution in different environments. Results of a new study reveal the diversity and distribution of viruses in Arctic fresh waters. Fresh waters in high latitudes such as the Arctic and Antarctic have low levels …
Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) showed clinical improvement after extended treatment with the anti-B-cell monoclonal antibody rituximab. This result suggests that in a subset of patients, ME/CFS might be an autoimmune disease. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody against a protein on the surface of B cells known as CD20. When the antibody is given to …
Back in 2013 I built a Wall of Polio in my laboratory – a large stack of six-well cell culture plates that have been used to measure the concentration of polioviruses in various samples by plaque assay. It became a focal point of the lab at which many guests came to have their photographs taken. Sadly, the …
Chronic wasting disease is a prion disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose) that is potentially a threat to human health. A role for environmental prion contamination in transmission is supported by the finding that plants can take up prions from the soil and transmit them to animals. A concern is that prions of chronic wasting …
The thousands of survivors of the Ebolavirus outbreak in western Africa – more than at any other time – are fortunate to have survived the disease. However, their health problems are not behind them. A new study shows that the survivors of Ebolavirus have long-term sequelae more than 2 years after infection. Acute infections caused …
Virologist Richard Elliott passed away on 5 June 2015. I have known Richard since 1979 and I would like to provide some personal recollections of this outstanding virologist. A summary of his work can be found at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research science blog. I first met Richard in 1979 when he joined …
