Visualization of M13 virus (orange strand to the right) using the surface proteins (purple strands) to grab the carbon nanotubes and put them in order. Image credit: Matt Klug, Biomolecular Materials Group, MIT. This article was written for extra credit by a student in my recently concluded virology course. by Ian Blubaugh A team at MIT …
The novel human retrovirus XMRV has been associated with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. The nucleotide sequence of XMRV isolated from humans indicates that the virus is nearly identical with XMRV produced from a human prostate tumor cell line called 22Rv1. This cell line was derived by passage of human prostate tumor tissue in …
Contemporary human viruses most likely originated by cross-species transmission from non-human animals. Examples include HIV-1, which crossed from chimpanzees to humans, and SARS coronavirus, which originated in bats. Since the 1989 discovery of hepatitis C virus (classified as a hepacivirus in the family Flaviviridae) the origin of the virus been obscure. During the characterization of …
Canine hepacivirus, a relative of hepatitis C virus Read More »
For extra credit in my recently concluded virology course, I asked students to summarize a virology finding in the style of this blog. I received many excellent submissions which I plan to post here in the coming months. by Amanda Carpenter In 1983, identical twin boys simultaneously received a contaminated blood transfusion immediately after birth, …
Not-so-similar fate of identical twins infected with HIV-1 Read More »
Late last year virologist Ian Lipkin was asked by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci to coordinate a multi-center study of CFS patients. Newly drawn blood samples from 100 CFS patients and 100 healthy controls from around the US will be blinded and sent to three groups – FDA, CDC and the …
Since the first association of the retrovirus XMRV with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2009 in the US, subsequent studies have failed to detect evidence of infection in patients from the US, Europe, and China. These studies were potentially compromised by a number of factors, such as differences in patient characterization, geographic locations, clinical samples used, …
Ila Singh finds no XMRV in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome Read More »
