Virology
A collection of polioviruses
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
In midsummer 1986, five years after starting my poliovirus laboratory at Columbia University, I received a letter from Frederick L. Schaffer, a virologist at the University of California, Berkeley, asking if I would like to have his collection of poliovirus stocks. He was retiring and the samples needed a home, otherwise they would be destroyed. …
TWiV 349: One ring to vaccinate them all
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #349 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan and Rich explain how to make a functional ribosome with tethered subunits, and review the results of a phase III VSV-vectored Ebolavirus vaccine trial in Guinea. You can find TWiV #349 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
An Ebolavirus vaccine in Africa
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
An Ebolavirus vaccine has shown promising results in a clinical trial in Guinea. This vaccine has been in development since 2004 and was made possible by advances in basic virology of the past 40 years. The ability to produce the Ebolavirus vaccine, called rVSV-EBOV, originates in the 1970s with the discovery of the enzyme reverse transcriptase, the development of …
TWiV 348: Chicken shift
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #348 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich discuss fruit fly viruses, one year without polio in Nigeria, and a permissive Marek’s disease viral vaccine that allows transmission of virulent viruses. You can find TWiV #348 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Permissive vaccines and viral virulence
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
A permissive vaccine prevents disease in the immunized host, but does not block virus infection. Would a permissive vaccine lead to the emergence of more virulent viruses? This hypothesis is based on the notion that viruses which kill their hosts too quickly are not efficiently transmitted, and are therefore removed by selection. However a vaccine …
Principles of Virology, Fourth Edition
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Events, Information
I am pleased to announce the publication by ASM Press of the fourth edition of our virology textbook, Principles of Virology. Two years in the making, this new edition is fully updated to represent the rapidly changing field of virology. Principles of Virology has been written according to the authors’ philosophy that the best approach to teaching introductory …
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 …
Trial By Error: Senator Bernie Sanders’ $10 Billion Long Covid “Moonshot” Proposal Read More »
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 …