A type of human encephalitis – an infection of the brain – has been known to affect the indigenous people living in the Sakha Republic of Russia since the mid-1800s. The available clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that the disease is caused by a pathogen, but proving this has been difficult. The disease is called …
Excellent description by Jonah Lehrer in “The Truth Wears Off” (The New Yorker) on the importance of confirming experimental findings in different laboratories: Before the effectiveness of a drug can be confirmed, it must be tested and tested again. Different scientists in different labs need to repeat the protocols and publish their results. The test …
Frederick Hayden, Professor of Medicine and Pathology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, U.K., has focused on the use of antiviral agents to prevent and treat respiratory viral infections. His interests range from the use of in vitro assays to study viral susceptibility and antiviral mechanisms of action, to clinical trials utilizing experimentally induced and …
My virology course at Columbia University, Biology W3310, has begun. This course, which I taught for the first time in 2009, is aimed at advanced undergraduates and will be taught at the Morningside Campus of Columbia University. Columbia University encompasses two principal campuses: the historic, neoclassical campus in the Morningside Heights neighborhood and the modern …
Chris Upton, a contributor to the virology toolbox, has raised an important point about multiplicity of infection: Perhaps this is a place to bring up particle to pfu ratio? The above is great for when talking about phage, for example, when the ratio approaches 1. But with something like polio when it can be very …
Multiplicity of infection (MOI) is a frequently used term in virology which refers to the number of virions that are added per cell during infection. If one million virions are added to one million cells, the MOI is one. If ten million virions are added, the MOI is ten. Add 100,000 virions, and the MOI …
