Buckyball viruses
- March 12, 2018
- Tagged as: Buckyball, capsid, helical symmetry, icosahedral symmetry, viral, virology, virus, viruses
How to build several types of virus particles using the small, powerful magnets called Buckyballs.
Zika in the guys
- November 7, 2016
- Tagged as: infertility, sperm, testis, viral, virology, virus, viruses, Zika virus
In this episode of Virus Watch, we explore the finding that Zika virus infects the testis of mice, causing damage to the organ, reduced sperm production, and less fertility. The important question: does the same happen in humans?
Cancer Killing Viruses
- October 14, 2016
- Tagged as: cancer, oncolytic vector, oncolytic virus, t-VEC, tumor, video, viral, viral oncotherapy, virology, virus, viruses
Guest host Lynda Coughlan reviews how oncolytic viruses, which specifically kill tumor cells, are designed and how they work.
Polio in Nigeria
- August 16, 2016
- Tagged as: IPV, Nigeria, OPV, paralysis, poliomyelitis, poliovirus, vaccine, viral, virology, virus, viruses
Polio returns to Nigeria after two years – but it turns out it had never gone away.
Zika Virus in the USA
- August 8, 2016
- Tagged as: 2016 Olympics, clinical trial, DNA vaccine, Miami, microcephaly, phase I trial, Rio de Janeior, viral, virology, virus, viruses, Zika virus
On this episode of Virus Watch we cover three Zika virus stories: the first human trial of a Zika virus vaccine, the first local transmission of infection in the United States, and whether the virus is a threat to participants in the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Zika Virus Vaccine
- July 26, 2016
- Tagged as: DNA, DNA vaccine, viral, virology, virus, Zika virus
The first experimental Zika virus vaccine has been published, and in this episode of Virus Watch, I explain how it works – it’s a DNA vaccine – compared with all the other vaccines out there.
In this Virus Watch video, I answer the often-asked question that always leads to an argument: Are Viruses Alive?
Virus Watch: How mosquitoes spread viruses
- June 9, 2016
- Tagged as: arbovirus, blood meal, mosquito, proboscis, vector, viral, virology, virus, viruses, Zika virus
In this episode of Virus Watch, I’ll show you how mosquitoes spread viruses. We’ll look at how a mosquito finds a host, how it finds a blood vessel, and how it delivers viruses to a new host. Don’t blame mosquitoes for viral diseases: it’s not their fault!
Virus Watch: Counting Viruses
- June 3, 2016
- Tagged as: agar, cell culture, infectivity, pfu, plaque assay, plaque forming units per ml, viral, virology, virus, viruses, Zika virus
In this episode of Virus Watch, I show how to do my favorite assay in all of virology – the plaque assay.
Virus Watch: Zika Virus and Microcephaly
- May 20, 2016
- Tagged as: birth defects, microcephaly, mouse model, placenta, viral, virology, virus, viruses, Zika virus
Three papers have been published showing that Zika virus can cross the placenta in mice, replicate in the fetus, and cause microcephaly. In this episode I summarize these data and their implications.