In this episode of Virus Watch, I explain how mosquitoes spread viruses. We’ll look at how a mosquito finds a host, how it finds a blood vessel, and how it delivers viruses to a new host. Don’t blame mosquitoes for viral diseases: it’s not their fault!
Virus Watch
Virus Watch: Counting Viruses
In this episode of Virus Watch, I show how to do my favorite assay in all of virology – the plaque assay.
Virus Watch: Zika virus and microcephaly
Three papers have been published showing that Zika virus can cross the placenta in mice, replicate in the fetus, and cause microcephaly. In this video from Virus Watch I summarize these data and their implications.
Virus Watch: Building Zika virus
The results of recent structural studies have given us the ability to display the structure of Zika virus and of the viral E protein bound to antibody. In this video from Virus Watch I explain how the Zika virus particle is built, and how it interacts with an antibody that blocks infection, in beautiful three dimensional imagery.
Virus Watch, Zika Edition
Readers of virology blog know my fondness for the long form. Many appreciate an in-depth discussion of virology in a blog post, video, or podcast, but this format is not for everyone. I know that I have been missing many individuals who would like to know more about viruses, but do not have the time or interest to spend an hour or more a week doing so. For those individuals, I have started Virus Watch.
Virus Watch is a weekly video series that explores the amazing world of viruses. They will be short (less than 10 minutes), with clear animation and focused on one or two stories. I released the first episode this week, which is about recent research on Zika virus. This virus will certainly be our focus for some time, but I also will explore other viruses in the series.
I am fascinated by viruses, which have I studied for my entire career, and I want you to be fascinated with them as well. You can find Virus Watch at my YouTube channel, or view the first video below.