For the second time in a week I note the passing of an important virologist. Renato Dulbecco, together with David Baltimore and Howard Temin, received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries about how tumor viruses interact with the genetic material of the cell. Dulbecco also devised my favorite virological method, the plaque …
Science magazine is conducting a live chat about research that produced H5N1 influenza strains that are more easily transmissible between ferrets. Among the topics to be addressed will be the benefits and risks of the H5N1 transmissibility studies and whether they should be published in full; and should experiments that could help aspiring bioterrorists be more tightly …
I will be on NPR’s Science Friday this afternoon (6 January, 2 PM EST) to discuss the H5N1-NSABB story. You can listen live, or download the recording which will be available later. I written three posts (one, two, three) about the ferret H5N1 experiments and why the NSABB should not prevent the publication of these …
Avian H5N1 influenza and biosecurity on Science Friday Read More »
Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D., Chairman of Genentech, has replaced Steve Jobs as Chairman of the Board of Apple, Inc. During his scientific career, Levinson did research on different viruses, including adenovirus, retroviruses, and hepatitis B virus. His first virology paper came from his Ph.D. research with Arnold Levine, and is entitled “In vivo and in …
Most students of elementary biology will have seen the table at left that depicts the genetic code. HG Khorana was one of several scientists who determined, in the 1960s, the amino acids specified by each three-letter combination of bases. As long as I have been at Columbia University I have had a copy of this …
In my 30-year career as a virologist I have used only computers made by Apple. Therefore I am saddened to hear of Mr. Jobs’ passing today. From his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And …
