Virology
Shelves and mentors
By Vincent Racaniello | | Information
When I became Peter Palese’s first Ph.D. student in 1976, his laboratory at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City was in dire need of shelves. The laboratory benches (pictured) had no room for storing the many bottles of reagents that I was beginning to generate. When I told Peter that his laboratory needed shelves, …
TWiV 352: Science art with Michele Banks
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #352 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent meets up with Michele Banks in Washington, DC to discuss her career as a creator of science-themed art. You can find TWiV #352 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
TWiV 351: The dengue code
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #351 of the science show This Week in Virology, the Masters of the ScienTWIVic Universe discuss a novel poxvirus isolate from an immunosuppressed patient, H1N1 and the gain-of-function debate, and attenuation of dengue virus by recoding the genome. You can find TWiV #351 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
1977 H1N1 influenza virus is not relevant to the gain of function debate
By Vincent Racaniello | | Uncategorized
The individuals who believe that certain types of gain-of-function experiments should not be done because they are too dangerous (including Lipsitch, Osterholm, Wain-Hobson,) cite the 1977 influenza virus H1N1 strain as an example of a laboratory accident that has led to a global epidemic. A new analysis shows that the reappearance of the 1997 H1N1 …
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TWiV 350: Viral gene therapy with Katherine High
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #350 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent speaks with Katherine High about her career and her work on using viral gene therapy to treat inherited disorders. This episode is drawn from one of twenty-six video interviews with leading scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of virology, part of the new edition …
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Lassa virus origin and evolution
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
I have a soft spot in my heart for Lassa virus: a non-fictional account of its discovery in Africa in 1969 inspired me to become a virologist. Hence papers on this virus always catch my attention, such as one describing its origin and evolution. Lassa virus, a member of the Arenavirus family, is very different from Ebolavirus (a filovirus), but …
David Tuller
Trial By Error: Guardian Columnist George Monbiot Discusses His Scathing Critique of the “Biopsychosocial” Approach to ME/CFS and Long Covid
By David Tuller, DrPH Earlier today I spoke with George Monbiot, a British investigative reporter and political activist, who has been a columnist for The Guardian for almost 30 years. He and I have been in occasional communication in recent years over an issue of mutual interest—the scandalous mistreatment of patients suffering from the devastating …
Trial By Error: Senator Bernie Sanders’ $10 Billion Long Covid “Moonshot” Proposal
By David Tuller, DrPH On April 9th, Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who votes with the Democrats, unveiled an ambitious $10 billion “moonshot” proposal to fund research into Long Covid. The proposal has raised hopes among patients with the disease or cluster of diseases now being called ME/CFS—as well as concerns that …
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Trial By Error: An Interview with the Authors of the European ME Alliance Survey of 11,000+ Patients
By David Tuller, DrPH Earlier this month, the European Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Alliance (EMEA) released a 235-page report on a survey of ME/CFS patients in Europe titled “Same disease, different approaches and experiences.” The authors are Arild Angelsen, a board member of the Norwegian ME Association and a professor at the School of Economics and Business …
Trial By Error: REGAIN Team Responds to Criticism with Unconvincing Defenses of Methodological Missteps
By David Tuller, DrPH In recent weeks, I have been urging The BMJ to correct a flawed University of Warwick trial of an online mental and physical health rehab program for people with prolonged symptoms at least three months after hospitalization for Covid-19. The primary outcome was health-related quality of life, assessed with a measure …
Trial By Error: A New Study from Exeter on “Brain Training” for Treatment of Post-Covid Cognitive Problems
By David Tuller, DrPH The University of Exeter is now recruiting for a study of “brain training” as a treatment for prolonged cognitive dysfunction after a bout of Covid-19. I found out about this via a post on X. The post highlighted a message that had been sent to an unidentified patient from their medical …
Trial By Error: In England, Conflicts Between Families and Hospitals Threaten the Lives of Young Women with ME
By David Tuller, DrPH ME patients and advocates in England have been alarmed by a series of ongoing cases in which the families of severely ill young women have struggled to convince hospitals to fit them with feeding tubes before they starve to death. I covered a similar situation last year in a piece about …