Tag: Viruses
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Turning Over a New Leaf in Vaccine Production
Vaccines are one of the most valuable innovations in modern medicine, saving an estimated four to five million lives every year (World Health Organization, 2019). Carter et al. (2021) estimate that vaccines could prevent 51 million deaths between 2021 and 2030. However, millions of people around the globe do not have access to vaccines (Figure…
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From Viral Invaders to Evolutionary Enablers: Viruses and the Mammalian Placenta
The placenta is a fascinating organ: not only is it temporary, but it has also enabled animals to give birth to live offspring. In fact, it is the first organ to form in mammalian development, and its ancestral form developed approximately 130 million years ago (Chuong, 2018). The evolution of the placenta brought about the…
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Antivirals from yours truly: Another virus
Viruses have taken the spotlight in recent years, no matter how much we want them gone. We normally think of these agents as something dangerous and harmful, which is not always true. There are many many viruses that have benefitted humanity, such as ancient retroviral DNA integrated into our genome that helps us get rid…