Monthly Archives: September 2010

TWiV Podcast

Posted on September 21, 2010 by David Esteban

TWiV: This Week in Virology.  I love listening to this podcast.  When people see me listening to my iPod, they may think I’m cool and listening to the hip music all the kids are listening to these days, but no, … Continue reading →

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Ebola Virus Entry

Posted on September 20, 2010 by David Esteban

Viruses can enter cells through a variety of different pathways.  Many enter through endocytosis, and there are actually several endocytic pathways: clathrin mediated, caveolin mediated, phago- and pinocytosis, and the rather mysterious “non-clathrin, non-caveolin mediated endocytosis.”
Ebola virus causes a severe … Continue reading →

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Posted in Molecular Virology | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Distant Evolutionary Relationships

Posted on September 17, 2010 by David Esteban

We’ve been talking about protein structure and folding in my Biol 105 class.  Proteins are made of chains of amino acids and the sequence of amino acids, or primary structure, dictates the way the protein will fold into its final … Continue reading →

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Posted in Evolution, Molecular Virology | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Monkeypox and Herd Immunity

Posted on September 8, 2010 by David Esteban

In 1980, smallpox was declared eradicated following an intensive global vaccination campaign.  The virus, Variola, has some close relatives that can infect humans, one of which is monkeypox.  Monkeypox isnt nearly the problem that smallpox was; it has a much … Continue reading →

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Posted in Epidemics, Evolution, Immunology | Tagged , , | 20 Comments