Virology deals with the study of viruses, "half-alive" entities that require the services of a host cell to reproduce.
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Is it possible for a person to become “reinfected” with the same strain of a virus?
If a person contracts a virus, viral conjunctivitis for example, is it possible for the individual to become "reinfected" with the exact same strain of the virus once the person has it treated and the ...
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Does this patient have HHV6 or HCMV after transplant surgery?
I have been given mock results from a PCR test on blood samples taken from kidney recipient patients and their donors. The PCR reaction can detect single copies of viral DNA. I have been asked to ...
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Carrying or packaging capacity of SAD B19 dG rabies virus
I'm wondering about the carrying capacity also referred to packaging capacity or loading capacity (how many base pairs can be packed efficiently into virions) of the pseudotyped rabies virus SAD-dG as ...
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How long does Lentivirus take to express in vivo mouse neurons?
Does anyone know how long it takes for a standard Lentivirus vector to express its genes (under a strong promoter such as CAG, CB7, etc.), after injection into the brain of a mouse?
By hearsay I ...
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Analysis of cDNA samples from brain with suspected measles inclusion body encephalitis
I have been given the following question as an assignment but I am not sure what exactly the results mean:
You have been given brain biopsies from 5 patients with suspected measles inclusion body ...
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Are there people cured of HIV by means of HAART?
I wonder if there people who were cured of HIV only by means of highly active anti retro-viral therapy (HAART) or other drugs rather than by bone marrow transplant?
I know that HAART can suppress HIV ...
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Agony, Hydrophobia and viruses in the light of evolutionary principles
I'm undergraduate physics student, but I've always been interested in biology. So I have a couple of questions about an application of the evolutionary principles to practice.
Agony as the last ...
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Is it possible for parasitic wasp to alter the behaviour of it's host after emerging from it?
I know that parasitic wasp larvae could live for a long time inside their alive host (eg. caterpillar), but I always thought that they kill the host when they eventually get out of it. But once I've ...
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Are homozygous carriers of the CCR5-Δ32 allele fully immune to all known strains of HIV?
Or is there documented evidence of even one homozygous carrier contracting HIV and staying infected?
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How does herpes (HSV) infection suppress HIV?
HIV compromises the human body to defend against infection. Yet people who are infected with herpes are at less risk of developing AIDS.
How does this work?
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How long will norovirus live?
I hope this is the right place to ask. I subscribe to several Stack Exchange threads, and regard them as the best internet forum for genuine and credible answers.
I spent last evening talking to ...
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Is every part of a virus important for replication?
Is every component of a virus absolutely essential for its infection and replication in a host cell? Or can you just have parts of it to cause infection?
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Virucides - Herbal and otherwise, for HHV6 type virus or any inner-cell virus
Does anyone know where I can find a reliable list of virucides (not anti-virus) that can be used by humans? This virucide must be able to affect viruses that are already inside the cells. St John's ...
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Do Viruses produce a biomagnetic field?
From wikipedia:
Biomagnetism is the phenomenon of magnetic fields produced by living organisms.
The present scientific definition took form in the 1970s, when an increasing number of researchers ...
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Cheapest Way to Measure Germ Density
I would like to measure the surface density of Staphylococcus bacteria and Rhinoviruses (only those two, to be specific) within my home. What's the cheapest way?
The textbook procedure is to:
rub ...
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Why are some viruses not communicable person-to-person?
Below are two quotes from the CDC about Hantavirus:
"Researchers believe that people may be able to get the virus if they
touch something that has been contaminated with rodent urine,
...
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How does Iota-Carrageenan achieve an antiviral effect?
"Cold Defence" nasal sprays are recommended to be taken either preventatively or in the early stages of a cold. The active ingredient in these sprays is Carrageenan. After some research, the active ...
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Why is rabies incurable?
I'm still not sure about the mechanics that lead to rabies being incurable. I know that it can be treated before any symptoms show up, but why is it that once symptoms show the person is a dead man ...
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What is the life cycle of a wart?
There doesn't seem to be a lot of information available on research done on warts. What is the life cycle of a wart? How does it spread? -- specifically how does it recruit cells to spread it? What ...
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What is the biological mechanism linking temperature and probability to be infected with a virus?
It is common knowledge that when you're cold you could get a cold.
What is the mechanism linking temperature and viral infection?
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130 views
How Do Large Ocean Viruses Form Their Own Organelles?
Several large viruses (Arslan 2011) form their own organelles within the amoebae they invade.
How do these organelles form?
Reference:
Arslan, D., Legendre, M., Seltzer, V., Abergel, C., Claverie, ...
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What is the contribution of viruses to the evolution of mankind?
I'm interested in horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, viruses, and organisms such as Bdelloid Rotifers. I've just read in Carl Zimmer's 'A Planet of Viruses' the following passage:
As a host ...
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What determines when a virus becomes a “new strain”?
The reason we cannot find a cure for the common cold is because viruses mutate rapidly. Where do the mutations occur in the DNA/mRNA of viruses and does this have any effect on the protein level? what ...
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How did viruses come to be?
My question is out of curiosity and got me thinking. How did viruses with the head, tail and tail fibres actually evolve? These viruses look more like machines than biological entities. Are there any ...
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Are there viruses that affect many kinds of cells across species?
I'm not a professional in biology nor a student, but I'm curious about this. To be more specific: why doesn't a plant virus affect animal cells?
I suspect that different kinds of cells have different ...
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Why do people dying of immune deficiency diseases appear sick?
Please forgive the obviously silly appearance of this question, and/or of the tenor which may come across as flippant or dismissive of real world suffering. My intention is none of the above.
As a ...
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What causes a 'stuffy' or 'runny' nose when you have a cold?
When humans get the common cold, a common symptom is a stuffy or runny nose. Is that the body's immune response or is that the virus's doing?
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Harmless virus?
Is it possible for a virus to live symbiotically with its host?
Is the human body plagued with viral infections that do negligible harm, or even serve a beneficial role?
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How to understand influenza strain designations?
What do the strain designations for flu mean?
For example avian flu is classified as H5N1, what do the letters H, ...
