This issue has been raised between scientists back from 1997, when Dr. Robin Weiss and others found that swine virus PERV can infect human cell lines. It is not that hard to imagine such possibility exists since viruses jump around between different hosts occasionally. However, what is more is the paper points out that when…
Virocell and the ‘influenzaloid’
Perspectives, it is all about perspectives. ‘The virocell concept and environmental microbiology’ by Patrick Forterre proposes a new way to view the the virus life cycle differently, by considering the cellular replication stage as the ‘virocell’ – viruses exist in assemblage with their host cells. Instead of counting the particles of viruses, to look at the infected virus…
The early 20th century – forming of the concept of ‘virus’
Just recently I have stumble upon the book ‘The virus: a history of the concept’ by Sally Smiths Hughes at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam library. It was fascinating to see how the viruses came into human awareness as we develop methods to see. The book talks about how scientists encounter the difficulties in researches when only techniques for Bacteriology…
Pepino Mosaic Virus – the ‘tamed’ virus of our times
I have been told by farmers and researchers in Netherlands that about 90% of the tomatoes in the Netherlands contains Pepino Mosaic Virus – in a good way. Pepino mosaic virus was once a serious problem in the Netherlands because it’s ease of transmission within green houses, and its affects on the yields, and particularly…
Chicken Pox Lollipop
Back in year 2011, the news of a lady in Nashville, USA selling chicken pox lollipop on Facebook was exposed to the public. She was also selling other things like Q-tips and cottons that has been contaminated by Varicella zoster virus (VZV). The idea is like an extended version of ‘Chicken pox party’ – which…