Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that some adults have serum cross-reactive antibodies to the new influenza H1N1 virus. One of the techniques used to reach this conclusion is the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. How does this assay work? To understand the HI assay, we must discuss the ...

Thanks to Chris Condayan and Ray Ortega of the American Society for Microbiology for recording and editing TWiV live at the ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia, 19 May 2009.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Friday that she is allocating $1 billion in existing funds to purchase large quantities of vaccine against the novel H1N1 influenza strain, and to conduct clinical trials this summer  to determine if an adjuvant can be used. If this money ...

Episode 33 of the podcast "This Week in Virology" was recorded before an audience at the ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia. Vincent, Alan, Dick, and Raul Andino discussed increased arterial blood pressure caused by cytomegalovirus infection, restriction of influenza replication at low temperature by the avian viral glycoproteins, first isolation ...

The World Health Organization, whose duties include directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system, will soon be writing science textbooks. That statement isn't true, of course. But it was my reaction to reading the latest announcement from Geneva: Bowing to pressure, the World Health Organization announced Friday that it ...