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 ...

On episode #278 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Kathy discuss disruption of the ccr5 gene in lymphocytes of patients infected with HIV-1. You can find TWiV #278 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

The latest addition to the Microbe Art gallery here at virology blog is Watty's Wall Stuff, where you will find beautiful cross-stitched viruses such as influenza virus, rabies virus, human immunodeficiency virus, herpesvirus and more. Here are some examples of Alicia Watkin's delicate and creative work.   There are even bacteria, fungi, ...

Six new cases of Heartland virus disease have been identified in residents of Missouri and Tennessee. The cause of this disease appears to be a member of the Phlebovirus genus in the Bunyaviridae family that was first identified in 2009 and appears to be transmitted by the Lone Star tick ...

In the spring of each year I teach a virology course to undergraduates and masters students at Columbia University. I produce video recordings of all my lectures not only for students in the course, but for anyone else who is interested in learning about viruses. You can find my virology ...