During a discussion about blogging on the Coast to Coast Bio
Podcast, it was suggested that science professors should spend
more time writing about their research – by explaining what
problems they are trying to solve, how they approach them, and
why they are interesting. My goal here at virology blog is
mainly to teach virology. But explaining what we do in my
virology laboratory can be an effective instructional tool.
About five years ago I became very interested in the innate
immune response to viral infections. The innate response is
considered the first line of immune defense because it is active
even before infection begins. Many viral infections are halted
by the innate immune system, which responds very quickly –
within minutes to hours after infection. The key to innate
defenses are cellular proteins – toll-like receptors and
cytoplasmic molecules – that can detect viruses and turn on
pathways that lead to the synthesis of the antiviral interferons
(IFN). In 2005, I attended a virology meeting in Ita