by Janie — "Self" versus "other" delineations in biology are fascinating, from both a biological and conceptual standpoint. The example that probably leaps first into people's minds is the human microbiome: Read more →
by Janie — "Self" versus "other" delineations in biology are fascinating, from both a biological and conceptual standpoint. The example that probably leaps first into people's minds is the human microbiome: Read more →
Posted on September 11, 2023 at 12:30 AM in Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph — Like with the customary New Year's Eve fireworks, every year we biologists are blessed with hitherto unknown or largely uncommon scientific terms. Some stick, others blaze away like said fireworks. How would you guess the term "virovory," which was added to Wikipedia on 29 December 2022, will fare? Read more →
Posted on January 16, 2023 at 01:30 AM in Ecology, Protists, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Abigail Curtis — My first niche microbiological interest came freshman year of high school, when I discovered that viruses don't solely infect animals. Indeed, viruses are pervasive in every ecosystem, including the smallest ones in the ground. The aspect of viruses in microbial ecosystems... Read more →
Posted on August 01, 2022 at 01:00 AM in Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Mechas Zambrano — Just like solving a crossword puzzle or a sudoku, it is also greatly gratifying when apparently obscure scientific observations are figured out. There are many examples in microbiology of observations that, though they hint at some biological... Read more →
Posted on July 04, 2022 at 01:00 AM in Physiology & Genetics, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph — If there is one venerable laboratory technique in virology, it is the plaque assay for the detection and quantification of bacteriophages. It was pioneered by Felix d'Herelle already around 1917, and in the early 1950s, plaque assays were also established for eukaryotic viruses... Read more →
Posted on January 10, 2022 at 01:30 AM in Methodology, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Merry (†) and the STC team — Morphologically speaking, the viruses of mesophilic and moderately thermophilic bacteria and archaea are a dull bunch. Of 5,100 surveyed, 97% are ho-hum head-and-tail phages − icosahedral heads with helical tails... Read more →
Posted on November 08, 2021 at 01:30 AM in Teachers Corner, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Rupinder Kaur, Sarah R. Bordenstein, and Seth R. Bordenstein — Amidst a global surge and focus on COVID-19 infections, other diseases that have had and will continue to have impact on human health cannot be forgotten. Dengue, for example, continues to be a major mosquito-borne viral infection, impacting more than 100 million people per year. Dengue can inflict... Read more →
Posted on July 05, 2021 at 01:30 AM in Pathogens, Symbioses, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Elio — Relatively few people are aware the virus that causes Covid19 has its own name, to wit, SARS-CoV-2. Outside the scientific literature, this is seldom used. Yet, almost everyone is aware that the AIDS virus is called HIV. But this is exceptional. The overwhelming number of people call a virus after the disease... Read more →
Posted on April 22, 2021 at 03:00 AM in Odds & Ends, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Elio — The trio of Yinon Bar-On, Rob Phillips, and Ron Milo, here augmented by Avi Flamholz, have done it again. In the past, they presented us the astounding numbers for the distribution of biomass on this planet, no less. We highlighted this seminal contribution to our understanding of the living world... Read more →
Posted on June 01, 2020 at 12:22 AM in Pathogens, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)
by Christoph — In my prior post, I answered the question "are viruses alive?" with a firm: no. That was the short answer, but there is also a long answer... and it's long because it's complicated. Read more →
Posted on May 18, 2020 at 01:30 AM in Pathogens, Teachers Corner, Viruses | Permalink | Comments (0)