Virology

Does Herpes Simplex Virus Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?

by Gertrud U. Rey Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. Although its exact cause is unclear, an increasing body of evidence suggests that an infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) may contribute to onset of AD later in life. Both types of ...

Dogma Does Not Belong in Science

by Gertrud U. Rey The nuclear pore complex appears to be wide enough to accommodate intact HIV-1 capsids. According to established scientific dogma, infection of cells with HIV-1 leads to delivery of the viral capsid into the cell cytoplasm, followed by “uncoating” of the capsid to release the single-stranded RNA ...

Let’s Talk About Measles

by Gertrud U. Rey Measles virus causes a characteristic rash consisting of red blotchy patches. Recent news headlines have been featuring multiple outbreaks of measles across the globe, and an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dated January 25, 2024, also reported 23 confirmed cases in the ...

The Problem of Original Antigenic Sin

by Gertrud U. Rey Image created in BioRender. Once the innate immune system senses a never-seen-before pathogen as new, it engages elements of the adaptive immune response. These adaptive immunity elements coordinate over time to develop a response that protects from re-infection and disease upon a second exposure to the ...

A Satellite Takes a Bite of Phage

by Gertrud U. Rey Image courtesy of Tagide deCarvalho/University of Maryland. Satellite viruses lack one or more of the elements needed to replicate, and thus they depend on co-infection with a helper virus that can provide the missing components. In a well-known example of a satellite-helper system, Hepatitis D virus ...
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