On episode #357 of the science show This Week in Virology, Jens Kuhn joins the TWiVomics to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of viral taxonomy, including its history and evolution, how viruses are ordered, and why T. rex was classified without having a living isolate. You can find TWiV #357 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit On episode #110 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Dickson discuss bacteria that can utilize arsenic in place of phosphorus, the passing of Frank Fenner, polio outbreak in The Congo, solving criminal cases of HIV transmission, and classifying viruses by capsid structure. …
For the first 60 years of virus discovery, there was no system for classifying viruses. Consequently viruses were named haphazardly, a practice that continues today. Vertebrate viruses may be named according to the associated diseases (poliovirus, rabies), the type of disease caused (murine leukemia virus), or the sites in the body affected or from which …
