About eight percent of human DNA is viral – remnants of ancestral infections with retroviruses. These endogenous retroviral sequences do not produce infectious viruses, and most are considered to be junk DNA. But some of them provide important functions. The protein called syncytin, which is essential for formation of the placenta, originally came to the …
On episode #218 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Welkin discuss how endogenous retroviruses in mice are held in check by the immune response. You can find TWiV #218 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal disorder of unknown etiology. The disease involves degeneration of motor neurons, leading to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death within five years. A viral etiology for ALS has been suggested but never proven. Retroviruses have been considered because they …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit Vincent, Alan, Dickson and Rich answer listener questions about XMRV, yellow fever vaccine, virus-like particles, West Nile virus, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and human endogenous retroviruses, multiplicity of infection, and how to make a poxvirus. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV129.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Welkin Johnson On episode #122 of the podcast This Week in Virology, the complete TWiV crew teams up with Welkin Johnson to explore the other AIDS epidemic, infection of monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus, and its restriction by the cellular protein TRIM5. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV122.mp3″] Click the arrow …
TWiV 122: More fun than a monkey full of viruses Read More »
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Welkin Johnson On episode #91 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, Rich and Welkin discuss the nature, origin, and evolution of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), and the recent finding of endogenous filovirus genomes in mammals. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV091.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, …
