Virology - Blog Posts

Talent 2030 hosts an annual competition for girls aged 11-18 in the UK to involve themselves in the future of engineering. This year I entered with an essay on the use of engineering to cure cancer, and thought I’d provide the article links I used for research. It’s actually a really interesting topic to delve into if you’re curious 

http://www.popsci.com/fda-approves-first-drug-that-treats-cancer-with-an-engineered-virus

http://fusion.net/story/155183/herpes-fights-cancer-virotherapy-measles-smallpox-cure-cancer/

https://www.standup2cancer.org/dream_teams/view/bioengineering_and_clinical_applications_of_circulating_tumor_cell_chip

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-chip-against-cancer/

What do you name a virus that is 1,000 times larger than the flu virus, has 200 times as many genes, and 93% of those genes are previously unknown to science? The mythical Pandora’s Box seemed an appropriate inspiration, and so the genus was dubbed Pandoravirus.  These extra-large viruses may have been missed in the past because of their size, and were likely thought to be bacteria. Pandoraviruses do not behave typically, and may re-open the conversation regarding viruses as a life form. More info: http://bit.ly/1bwvYuY Image via Chantal Abergel and Jean-Michel Claverie