Tag Archives: Hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C, Techniques, Viral Disease

Tiny particles with big consequences: The number of viruses it takes to start an infection

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Hepatitis virions, of an unknown strain of the...
Hepatitis virions (Photo credit: Microbe World)

My last post was written to introduce the concept of quasispecies in an RNA virus population.

This article will further expand on the topic and show how the quasispecies concept was used with powerful genetic sequencing technology to figure out a specific question: How many hepatitis C virus particles does it take to start an infection in humans? Continue reading Tiny particles with big consequences: The number of viruses it takes to start an infection →

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Hepatitis C, Rational Drug Design, Viral Disease

Triumphs in rational drug design: Hepatitis C

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English: The genome organisation of Hepatitis ...
The genome organisation of Hepatitis c virus. One open reading frame encodes a polyprotein of 3010 amino acids. This protein is cut by viral and cell enzymes to active proteins. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Despite our ever-dwindling supply of effective antibiotics, there have been a growing number of drugs that are effective against viral diseases. Many of these new drugs are not the result of happy chance or serendipity, as was penicillin, but rather the result of a process known as rational drug design. Continue reading Triumphs in rational drug design: Hepatitis C →