Evolution proceeds by selection of mutants that arise by error-prone duplication of nucleic acid genomes. It is believed that mutations that are selected in a gene are dependent on those that have preceded them, an effect known as epistasis. Analysis of a sequence of changes in the influenza virus nucleoprotein ...

Ian Lipkin, Columbia University, New York, and Lyle Petersen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, discuss recently emerged pathogens, and how to prepare should their range expand. When asked if MERS-coronavirus would cause the next pandemic, Ian Lipkin responded 'I don't have a crystal ball'. Recorded at the Annual ...

This article was written for extra credit by a student in my recently concluded virology course. by Nayan Lamba A recent study by scientists at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy offers a new, multifaceted therapy for destroying tumors. A team of researchers led by Dmitriy Zamarin combined checkpoint blockade, a ...

On episode #285 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent meets up with XJ Meng and Sarah McDonald at Virginia Tech to talk about their work on viruses of swine and rotaviruses. You can find TWiV #285 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

Later this month (May 2014) the World Health Assembly will decide whether to destroy the remaining stocks of variola virus - the agent of smallpox - or to allow continued research on the virus at WHO-approved laboratories. After the eradication of smallpox in 1980, the World Health Organization called for ...