Three years ago today, on 13 January 2011, the last case of poliomyelitis was reported in India. This achievement represents a remarkable turnaround for a country where control of the disease had for years been extremely difficult. As recently as 2009 there were 741 confirmed cases of polio caused by wild-type virus in India. Being …
At LORiOLA you will find hand sculpted glass beads and jewelry by Lori Flanders. As pointed out by artist Michelle Banks, some of Lori’s necklaces appear to be made with virus particles, as you can see in the photograph to the left. That necklace is called ‘infectious‘. I asked Lori whether she drew inspiration from …
Neuraminidase is one of three different viral proteins embedded in the lipid membrane of influenza virus (NA is blue in the illustration at left). This enzyme has a clear and proven role in virus release from cells. NA is also believed to be important during virus entry, by degrading the mucus barrier of the respiratory …
Cutting through mucus with the influenza virus neuraminidase Read More »
If you are looking for the perfect present for that infectious person in your life, there are many microbe-themed possibilities. Here are some suggestions. Zazzle has a number of science-themed T-shirts, but my favorite is the ‘How well do you know virus classification‘ shirt (pictured) which features none other than the Baltimore scheme. If you …
Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), first identified in the fall of 2012 in a Saudi Arabian patient, has since infected over 160 individuals, causing 71 deaths. Identifying the source of infection is important for efforts to prevent further infections. Recently two studies revealed the presence of antibodies to the virus in dromedary camels in …
One of my goals as a science communicator is to be Earth’s virology professor. To do this I teach an undergraduate virology course at Columbia University and at iTunes University. This past summer I ported my undergraduate virology course to Coursera.org where I reached 26,000 students. My next virology course at Coursera, How viruses cause disease, …
