Virology
Forget the fourth domain of life
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Commentary, Information
When giant viruses were discovered – with genomes much larger than any previously seen – some suggested that they had descended from a fourth domain of life (the current three are bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes). Part of the reason for such a claim was the finding of homologs of bacterial and eukaryotic genes, including molecules involved …
TWiV 435: Two virus particles walk into a cell
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The TWiVome discuss the blood virome of 8,420 humans, and thoroughly geek out on a paper about the number of parental viruses in a plaque. You can find TWiV #435 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 435 (73 MB .mp3, 121 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
The purity of plaques
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
The plaque assay – my favorite assay in the world – is a time-honored procedure to determine the number of viruses in a sample, and to establish clonal virus stocks. The linear relationship between the number of infectious particles and the plaque count (illustrated; image credit) shows that one infectious particle is sufficient to initiate infection. Despite the …
TWiV 434: Live long and pupate
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The esteemed TWiVumvirate reveal the discovery of a new negative stranded RNA virus of wasps that regulates longevity and sex ratio of its parasitoid host. You can find TWiV #434 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 434 (64 MB .mp3, 106 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
The viruses in your blood
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
If you have ever received a blood transfusion, along with the red blood cells, leukocytes, plasma and other components, you also were infused with a collection of viruses. A recent study of the blood virome of over 8,000 healthy individuals revealed 19 different DNA viruses in 42% of the subjects. Viral DNA sequences were identified among the genome …
An open letter to Psychological Medicine, again!
By Vincent Racaniello | | Uncategorized
Last week, Virology Blog posted an open letter to the editors of Psychological Medicine. The letter called on them to retract the misleading findings that participants in the PACE trial for ME/CFS had recovered from cognitive behavior therapy and graded exercise therapy. More than 100 scientists, clinicians, other experts and patient organizations signed the letter. …
An open letter to Psychological Medicine, again! Read More »
David Tuller
Trial By Error: The “Wired” Account of Cancelled Exercise Study for Long Covid at University of Virginia
By David Tuller, DrPH On June 1st, Wired published a 7,600-word lollapalooza about mind-body interventions for Long Covid. The article, written by Alan Levinovitz, a professor of religion at James Madison University, posited that angry patients were derailing important research into these and other psychological and behavioral treatments. For balance, Levinovitz quoted multiple critics of …
Trial By Error: The Truth According to Wired (and Alan Levinovitz)
By David Tuller, DrPH Much has already been written about Alan Levinovitz’ 7,600-word love poem to the potential healing powers of so-called “mind-body” interventions for Long Covid. Wired published the article last Monday under the title “The Painful Truth About Long Covid.” As the word “painful” suggests, the epic is also infused with darker notes. …
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Trial By Error: Interview with Chris Ponting about “Sequence ME & Long Covid”
By David Tuller, DrPH Last year’s release of the results from the DecodeME, a UK-based genome wide association study of more than 15,000 DNA samples, generated significant excitement. Action for ME, which spearheaded DecodeME, recently announced that it had received funding for a multi-phase follow-up project called Sequence ME & Long Covid. The UK government …
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Trial By Error: My Exchange with an FND Physical Therapy Specialist
By David Tuller, DrPH When I write about functional neurological disorder (FND) or functional neurological symptoms, I sometimes get feedback from Zachary Grin, a physical therapist in New York. As an FND specialist, he disagrees with pretty much everything I write about the topic. At first, I tried to engage with Zachary in a good-natured …
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Trial By Error: My Request for Correction of Causal Claim for Functional Neurological Symptoms
By David Tuller, DrPH This morning I sent the following letter to CNS Spectrums, a neuroscience journal published by Cambridge University Press. Subject line: “Correction needed for etiological statement in ‘Functional neurological symptoms occur commonly in healthy adults: implications for the pathophysiology of FND.'” Depending on the response, or lack of one, I might also …
Trial By Error: So FND Is Not Only a Brain “Software” Issue After All…
*Kim H, a FND patient with whom I have frequently exchanged views, has left a comment below. I urge others to read it. I disagree with her interpretation, but I certainly think she has a right to express her perspective. However, I stand by my post. ********** By David Tuller, DrPH For years*, experts in …
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