The immune response to viral infection comprises innate and adaptive defenses. The innate response, which we have discussed previously, functions continuously in a normal host without exposure to any virus. Most viral infections are controlled by the innate immune system. However, if viral replication outpaces innate defenses, the adaptive response ...

During the earliest stages of a virus infection, cytokines are produced when innate immune defenses are activated. The rapid release of cytokines at the site of infection initiates new responses with far-reaching consequences that include inflammation. One of the earliest cytokines produced is tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which is ...

USA Today's Snapshot for 29 June was a survey in which 1000 adults were asked to name a famous scientist. Here are the results: 47% named Albert Einstein 23% could not name anyone 6% named Marie Curie 4% named Louis Pasteur 4% named Thomas Edison The survey was conducted by ...

Mutation is an important source of RNA virus diversity that is made possible by the error-prone nature of RNA synthesis. Viruses with segmented genomes, such as influenza virus, have another mechanism for generating diversity: reassortment. When an influenza virus infects a cell, the individual RNA segments enter the nucleus. There ...

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Glenn Rall On episode #38 of the podcast "This Week in Virology", Vincent and Glenn Rall chat about koi herpesvirus, H1N1 influenza vaccine produced in insect cells, attack by a rabid raccoon, and measles. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV038.mp3"] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #38 ...