immunity

How the Viruses Within Us Protect Us From Other Viruses

by Gertrud U. Rey Did you know that eight percent of the human genome consists of DNA sequences that are derived from retroviruses? These “endogenous retroviruses” (ERVs) represent concrete evidence for retroviral infections that occurred in our ancestors. Although ERVs have no viral activity, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that they are not entirely …

How the Viruses Within Us Protect Us From Other Viruses Read More »

Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein May Not Be Reliable Markers for Infection in Vaccinated People

by Gertrud U. Rey You are fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and have presumably never been infected with the virus. But how can you know for sure? One way to find out is by testing your blood for the presence of antibodies against the viral nucleocapsid protein, which can only be encountered during natural infection. This …

Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein May Not Be Reliable Markers for Infection in Vaccinated People Read More »

How vaccines work

Vaccines work by educating the host’s immune system to recall the identity of a virus years after the initial encounter, a phenomenon called immune memory. Viral vaccines establish immunity and memory without the pathogenic consequences typical of a natural infection. The success of immunization in stimulating long-lived immune memory is among humanity’s greatest scientific and …

How vaccines work Read More »

TWiV 664: TWiV is for the dogs

On this mid-week edition, does it matter that SARS-CoV-2 is mutating, seasonal coronavirus immunity is short-lived, another bogus claim that the virus was produced in a laboratory (it came from Nature), and answers to listener questions. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 664 (73 MB .mp3, 122 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

TWiV 659: Sloppy coronavirus immunity with Christian Drosten

Christian Drosten returns to TWiV to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in Germany, and general thoughts on testing, immunity, vaccines, therapeutics, epidemiology, reopening schools, and what will happen this fall. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 659 (72 MB .mp3, 120 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

Scroll to Top