Virology

The current Ebola outbreak in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has received a lot of media attention, with terrifying news headlines such as “Deadliest Ever Outbreak of Ebola” appearing across the globe [1]. And this is…

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been detected in a baby girl from Mississippi born with HIV and believed cured after very early treatment, disappointing the families involved and researchers. Millions of people have died of AIDS and millions…

One of my earliest memories is of the chaos caused by a kamikaze bee that flew through an open window in my family’s pickup truck during an otherwise pleasant country drive. It saddens me to imagine a future where children are deprived of the bee-related…

Should the discovery of an infectious virus in the permafrost worry us? Scientists have uncovered a so-called ‘giant virus’ in permafrost that has melted as a result of progressive climate change. The virus, Pithovirus sibericum, was isolated from melted…

Since the first discovery of virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, viruses have been classified in a number of different ways. First, viruses were considered a poison, then a life-form, next demoted to classification as a biological chemical, and finally…