Virology

Poliovirus on Time

Poliovirus has made the cover of Time magazine. The Time cover image for the 14 January 2013 issue is a model of poliovirus bound to a soluble form of its cellular receptor, CD155. I was part of the team that solved the structure of this complex in 2000, together with ...

Friday flu shot

Yesterday many US newspapers carried front-page stories on the severity of influenza so far this season. The New York Times story began with "It is not your imagination,more people you know are sick this winter, even people who have had flu shots." Is this really a bad flu season? Before we answer ...

Deans write to Obama about CIA vaccine scheme in Pakistan

Deans of public health schools in the United States have sent the following letter to President Obama, in which they criticize the use of a vaccination campaign by the Central Intelligence Agency in Pakistan to hunt for Osama bin Laden. I wonder if he will reply. January 6, 2013 Dear ...

WHO will switch to type 2 inactivated poliovirus vaccine

The World Health Organization's campaign to eradicate poliomyelitis made impressive inroads in 2012: only 212 cases were reported, compared with 620 the previous year; moreover, India remained polio-free. The dark side of this story is that as wild polio is eliminated, vaccine-associated poliomyelitis moves in to take its place. The ...

TWiV 214: This is your brain on polyomavirus

On episode #214 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Kathy discuss how coagulation factor X binding to adenovirus activates the innate immune system, and a novel polyomavirus associated with brain tumors in raccoons. You can find TWiV #214 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
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