The influenza virus particle is made up of the viral RNA genome wrapped in a lipid membrane (illustrated). The membrane, or envelope, contains three different kinds of viral proteins. The hemagglutinin molecule (HA, blue) attaches to cell receptors and initiates the process of virus entry into cells. I have written ...

On episode #257 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiV team consider how the kinase mTOR modulates the antibody response to provide broad protection against influenza virus, and explore the problems with scientific research. You can find TWiV #257 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

John Holland, 1995 Virologist John Holland passed away on 11 October 2013. I asked former members of his laboratory for their thoughts on his career and what he meant to them. Bert Semler For more than 35 years, John Holland was a major figure and leading contributor in the study ...

The SARS pandemic of 2002-2003 is believed to have been caused by a bat coronavirus (CoV) that first infected a civet and then was passed on to humans. The isolation of a new SARS-like coronavirus from bats suggests that the virus could have directly infected humans. A single colony of horseshoe bats ...

Neisseria meningitidis may cause septicemia (bacteria in the blood) and meningitis (infection of the membrane surrounding the brain), but the bacterium colonizes the nasopharynx in 10-20% of the human population without causing disease. Although understanding how the bacterium changes from a commensal to a pathogen has been elusive, an important property is ...