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This essay is designed to investigate the mystery of the virus: the smallest form of organic material that is able to replicate itself by following a parasitic approach that needs an external, living cell. As it is quite unable to metabolize nutrients, it is not considered to be alive. This essay will share some little known facts about viruses and help to dispel some dangerous myths that evolved about them and the vaccines used against them. Since 1892 when scientists started to investigate these objects, they have been confronted with the primary mystery: what are viruses? How do they survive on their endless quest from host to host? This essay will concentrate on the virulent viruses: those that cause a major threat to humanity; we will focus on the Big Three: smallpox, polio and influenza. The influenza story becomes central because it illustrates the false assumptions that have been made in the past with earlier false alarms, such as the Swine Flu panic of 1976 and the even larger false assumptions about the 'Great Spanish Flu Pandemic' of 1918-1920, where most deaths were due to deadly bacteria. The present covid panic seems to be a reflection of the 1976 Swine Flu panic. Several other viruses are examined (like Hepatitis B and the Herpes family: Herpes Simplex and Epstein-Barr) as they illustrate the successful vaccines used to defeat them; interestingly, this has NOT been used here in the current Covid Panic. This study of viruses has increased my respect for the variety of nature, no matter what its scale but a better understanding of how they function will help us react to their ongoing threats. Knowing their structure, is only the first step in understanding what is going on: processes are more significant than structure (relationships are key to knowledge; not just identifying-and naming-objects). Although written for an educated audience (but not virologists) there is much here of interest to non-scientists to show HOW real virology is done (slowly: one discovery at a time). I hope this great story will appeal to many.
Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
In 2011, I was invited by Dr. Shirley Wheeler to make new work for a multi-media exhibition at St. John's College, Oxford University, based around the theme Virus. The brief for this project was broad and flexible. The exhibition aimed to engage the public with the science of viruses through a variety of creative approaches - approaches informed by some aspect, understanding or inspiration gained from the scientific knowledge pertaining to viruses. The exhibition provided insights, challenges and perspectives that help to lead people to a new or different comprehension of this field of science. It took a fresh look at this area of science through the eyes of contemporary artists and designers and was deliberately multidisciplinary with two, three dimensional and interactive work. For my work, I decided to take the theme of the decline of the bumblebee - a decline caused by the spread of viruses - a spread which can, to some extent, be contained if the bee population is healthy -...
Virology Journal, 2020
Background Viruses are the most numerous entities on Earth and have also been central to many episodes in the history of humankind. As the study of viruses progresses further and further, there are several limitations in transferring this knowledge to undergraduate and high school students. This deficiency is due to the difficulty in designing hands-on lessons that allow students to better absorb content, given limited financial resources and facilities, as well as the difficulty of exploiting viral particles, due to their small dimensions. The development of tools for teaching virology is important to encourage educators to expand on the covered topics and connect them to recent findings. Discoveries, such as giant DNA viruses, have provided an opportunity to explore aspects of viral particles in ways never seen before. Coupling these novel findings with techniques already explored by classical virology, including visualization of cytopathic effects on permissive cells, may represe...
Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 8 - August, 2020
Humans were battling for survival before evolution till our modern lifestyle. Amongst all, viruses are such tiny organisms keep infecting a humans a decades ago and spreading in universe by many routes/pathways. Animal to human transmission is triggered outbreaks claiming thousands of lives, in a period of time by different species of viruses. RNA genome viruses are assumed to more virulent than DNA genome one due to its complex structural instability , environmental adoptability, mutational properties. Study of its entry in human body, attachment and replication into host cells, response of host defence cells by innate and adaptive immunity is helpful to know virus’ mild to lethal pathogenic nature. Marburg, Ebola, HIV,influenza, SARS-COV, and 2019 –nCoV( COVID 19 /SARS-COV2) are few deadly threats of a battle. Study by lab investigation, vaccines, antiviral drugs need to focus on antidisease approach then anti pathology visionary to eradicate and protect human from viruses’ biowea...
Encyclopedia of Virology - 4th Edition, 2021
Queriniana, 2022
Ural-Altaic studies No 3 (26) 2017: 127-150, 2019
2019 IEEE International Solid- State Circuits Conference - (ISSCC), 2019
66th Annual GSA Southeastern Section Meeting - 2017, 2017
Revista Simetria do Tribunal de Contas do Município de São Paulo
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010
Anuario Asia Pacífico el Colegio de México, 2022
Journal of Molecular Structure, 2011
Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, 2020