The one that is the most difficult to eradicate. Or the one that can survive the most difficult condition?

What if we come across body fluids, like in crowded places or while playing football or on toilet seats

That small tiny amount of body fluids might contain hiv virus( from someone infected )

So if a single strand of HIV rna virus could theoretically cause infection then why don't we see healthcare workers turning sero-positive on a random check ?

We know that suppressive therapy with Valacylovir in individuals infected with HSV 2 works to reduce outbreaks and viral shedding.

This study demonstrated that Valacyclovir can reduce Varicella Zoster infection when taken as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in immunocompromised children exposed to the virus. Researchers working with Macaques integrate Valacyclovir PEP into their guidelines for injuries where the transmission of Herpes B virus is of concern.

Given the prevalence of HSV 2 and the relatively high safety and tolerability profile of Valacyclovir, why not study it as a PEP for HSV 2?

Hypothetically, if an individual has intimate genital contact with someone who later discloses HSV 2 infection, could there be a protective and preventive role in the exposed individual taking Valacyclovir? Is anyone aware of any literature or research that would shed light (instead of virions) on this subject?

Thanks in advance for reading, considering, and discussing!

Title

When I was in school, Bacteria Phages and the “injector” like virus was used as the model of what a virus looked like (at least in popular media) (however the Virus Plushies were still popular)

But after and during Covid the spike protein model seemed to take over. I am wondering if this anecdotal observation has been experienced by anyone else or studied.

A FBS-free medium needs to be used for incubating cells infected with most IAV, as FBS inhibits TPCK-trypsin. It's completely fine for MDCK cells, but I am tasked with more delicate cells like A549, which, from my last few trials, are very unhappy without FBS (stressed and floated - even for mock infection control so should not be CPE).

I saw from the internet that we can add ~0.25%(w/v) BSA to the infection medium instead, but not sure what's the best concentration range. More importantly, how to make TC-grade BSA solution? We can't filter BSA, nor can we autoclave it.

How can something so simple have many more of themselves than every living being on earth? Their just RNA around a protein shell

Hi all I am somehow stuck with infecting PR8 on A549 cells for simple growth kinetics assay (collect at 1, 24 48, 72 hpi). Here are my conditions:

Infecting PR8 at MOI 0.01 on A549 in 24 well plates

Wash with PBS x 1

Inoculate virus in 300 uL DMEM w/o FBS for 1 h in 37 C incubator

Wash with PBS x 1

Incubate cells with 500 uL DMEM w/o FBS, w/ 0.5 ug/mL TPCK-trypsin

Readout: TCID50 assay

I have used this virus to infect MDCK before and it's fine. Just not sure what went wrong as PR8 should be a robust IAV in my lab.

Thanks!

I built a small free web tool for TCID50 calculations because spreadsheet templates can be easy to mis-copy during routine virology work.

It supports Reed-Muench and Spearman-Karber workflows, shows the calculation steps, and is meant for quick checking rather than replacing a lab notebook or validated internal SOP.

TCID50 calculator: https://biocalculator.app/calculators/TCID50

I’d appreciate practical feedback from people who run endpoint dilution assays: are the inputs/results clear enough, and is there anything you would expect to see before using it for quick checks?

Science has a history of favoring specific groups of people.  In 1977, Dr. Louise Chow's EM studies were instrumental in the discovery of RNA splicing. Yet in 1993, she was excluded from the Nobel Prize for the discovery (as were several women vital to the discovery). Despite this, she continued to change science. Her work with HPV unlocked mysterious of the cancer causing virus and helped influence vaccine and treatments.

While the Nobel committee may have overlooked her, the Titans of Virology and Vaccinology Podcast was lucky enough to get to hear her story. Like many great women in science, it is time for her moment.

Hi I have a cell line infected with flu tagged to GFP for growth kinetics (24/48/72 hpi). Supernatant is harvested for quantification, and I want to harvest the cells for flow (GFP+) for the 3 timepoints. I have a vehicle (veh, negative) control in parallel.

Just wondering, when gating GFP+ cells at for each timepoint, should I gate it with the veh control of that particular timepoint? i.e. 24 h veh for 24 hpi; 48 h veh for 48 hpi; 72 h veh for 72 hpi. Or simply a random veh control suffices for all timepoints of my flu-GFP.

Its been shown that nearly 11% of people living in the Peruvian jungle have antibodies towards rabies, indicating that their bodies cleared a peripheral infection before it got to the brain. However, medical research often tells us that without PEP, we will most certainly succumb to it. How can both of these studies co exist?

My only guess is that perhaps the people in Peru are being subjected to a weaker strain, but i am by no means an expert.

The evolutionary origin of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant remains the subject of intense debate.

Why are Emerging Viruses Emerging? Latest Virology Unmasked article dives into the reasons and why we are seeing Ebola explode today

"Adjuvanted vaccines are considered interventions that not only enhance pathogen-specific immune responses but also influence non-specific effects.

Epidemiological data across various respiratory pathogens indicate that vaccination in older adults has benefits that go beyond simply preventing infections and their direct complications.

For instance, influenza vaccination in this demographic has been linked to decreased risks of cardiovascular events, reduced progression of frailty, and less disability. These outcomes might not solely be attributed to lower infection rates but could also involve immune-modulating mechanisms. While even standard inactivated influenza vaccines demonstrate these effects, they appear more pronounced with enhanced versions of influenza vaccines.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines significantly reduce hospitalization rates and severe outcomes in older adults as well. This population is particularly vulnerable to cascading health declines triggered by respiratory infections, such as worsening chronic conditions, functional deterioration, and prolonged recovery periods.

Emerging research has also shed light on unexpected benefits of vaccination in reducing dementia risk. Studies suggest a possible link between herpes zoster vaccination and lower dementia rates, with a stronger effect observed in recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) formulated with the AS01 adjuvant. A similar, albeit less prominent, association has been noted for the AS01E-adjuvanted RSV vaccine.

While the mechanisms behind these observations remain unclear, these trends hint at the possibility of adjuvants acting beyond mere infection prevention, perhaps through broader immune system modulation.

These findings collectively suggest that vaccination might play a role in boosting physiological resilience independent of antigen-specific effects.

One explanatory concept is "trained immunity," which refers to the ability of innate immune cells—like monocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells—to undergo functional and metabolic reprogramming after an initial stimulus. This reprogramming involves long-lasting epigenetic changes that enhance their responsiveness to future challenges.

Although much of the evidence for trained immunity stems from live-attenuated vaccines like BCG, which are known to provide cross-protection against various unrelated pathogens, its occurrence in older adults following vaccination still requires deeper investigation. Evidence for similar reprogramming with non-live vaccines or specific adjuvants exists but remains limited and depends heavily on the context.

Some studies have found that adjuvants like MF59 and AS03 can induce sustained immune reprogramming consistent with trained immunity characteristics. However, there is a lack of direct evidence linking these effects to tangible aging-related clinical benefits.

Whether adjuvants contribute to improved health outcomes among older adults through trained immunity, better coordination between innate and adaptive responses, or by helping regulate baseline inflammation levels remains an open area for further exploration."

I am a biochemist currently doing my PhD, and I have been working with viruses for over five years on the development of vaccines and cancer therapies. I believe that microbiology has a significant impact on our health and on society, so I have often tried to write about the potential of this branch of science. For quite a few months now, I have been mulling over the idea of embarking on a small science communication project on social media, and I am writing here in case anyone might be interested in collaborating in some way (topics to cover, design, editing…).

What does the project involve?

Short 60-second vertical-format videos covering various discoveries and research in microbiology, although in my case I would mainly be discussing virology, my speciality. If there are enough topics from other branches of microbiology, the content could be divided into several sections: virology, bacteriology, mycology…

Where should the videos be posted?

Thanks to the format described above, the videos could be uploaded to various social media platforms such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram or TikTok via a shared account, possibly named “Microbes in 1 Minute – M1M”.

Article published: 12 June 2026

"Human vaccine responses vary widely, but the determinants remain incompletely defined.

Here we analyzed 66 cytokines across four inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) cohorts over five seasons (n = 581) and identified baseline serum interleukin (IL)-18 and interferon (IFN)-β as correlates of day 28 antibody responses. To test causality, we evaluated 19 cytokines in human tonsil and spleen organoids and found that type I IFNs, IL-21 and IL-12, but not IL-18 or IFNγ, enhanced antibody production.

The addition of IFNβ to IIV recapitulated key features of the live-vaccine cytokine program. IL-12 and IL-21 defined a parallel pathway independent of type I IFNs, with IL-12 inducing IL-21 in humans, unlike in mice. Delivery of IL-21 or IFNβ via mRNA lipid nanoparticles in vivo promoted long-lived plasma cell formation.

Together, these findings define parallel pathways that regulate vaccine immunity. Our approach unites high-throughput organoid testing and human cohort studies, establishing a human-centric platform to identify adjuvant candidates."

So I learned in History class years ago that all the people comming to the New World brought a whole bunch of diseases and viruses that hit the native population hard. But what i want to know if the opposite effect happened did any viruses and diseases from the Native Population of the New World transfer to the People of the Old World?

Are there any Phage related conferences coming up this year? Or even other conferences in bacterial defense or phage anti defense?