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RyuuSennyo's Virology Page

For all of you that haven't checked my "me" page (naughty you!), I am extremely interested in virology. One day, I may be working at the CDC! That would be nice :)

So you are probably wondering...what is virology? What is Ebola? Either that, or you already know...so skip down to the links! But if you don't know, virology is the study of those nasty, but beautiful, little particles called viruses. Ebola is one of the nastiest of those viruses.

So what makes Ebola so nasty? Well...first of all, you should know that viruses are ranked by their deadliness. Biosafety level 1, 2, 3, and 4 are the different classifications. BSL 1 is the weak, harmless stuff. BSL 2 are the viruses that can cause sickness, but aren't usually dangerous. BSL 3 is getting up there. I believe AIDS is BSL 3. They will make you sick, could kill you, but are usually hard to contract. BSL 4 viruses are the really dangerous things: Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever...that type of stuff. There are no cures, no vaccines, and those that work with these viruses are placed in "space suits" with separate air supplies and triple gloves. There are only four BSL 4 labs in the world. Two are in the US: USAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases)(*whew!*) and at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).

And why, you ask, would ANYONE want to work with such dangerous things? Because it's interesting, that's why! I mean...a tiny packet of DNA (or RNA) and proteins that can cause a human to turn to liquid is interesting indeed!

If you have had your interest sparked, I suggest reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston for starters. It's not really scientific, but it will get you hooked and introduce you to some of the technical lingo so that when you pick up books like The Coming Plague or Virus Hunters, you won't be lost.

And so here are some important links, and some pictures, if you, too, are interested in virology or microbiology. The links are arranged by topic (more or less). Enjoy!

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• The World Health Organization page
• The Pasteur Institute--Warning: mostly in French, so break out your French-English dictionaries
• SatelLife--nonprofit organization to "improve electronic communications...in the fields of public health, medicine and the environment."

• The Outbreak Page (Highly recommended for virology interests!)
• Journal of Virology
• Science.org--Virology Lab
• BioHazard--Ebola Virus Information Headquarters --I HIGHLY recommend this one for those of you who want to know stuff in layman's terms :)
• Microbial Underground

• All the Virology on the WWW
• The Emory Medweb
• Harvard Virology Program--How to be a virologist, according to Harvard.

And what are prions, you ask? Well, first off, you should know that for a long time, viruses are held to be fascinating because they just are not very complicated: DNA (or RNA), some proteins, and maybe some carbohydrates. They are not considered to be alive, and usually can't survive long outside of a host. And they are so deadly. How can something so simple kill something so complex (namely, large organisms)?

Well, recently, it was discovered that something even LESS complex than a virus can cause disease in a host. Yes...these are prions. They are just proteins. That's it...that's all...nothing else...proteins. Scary, huh? However, the naming of prions and what EXACTLY they are is still under debate. There are theories that prions are more than just proteins, and may contain tiny DNA or RNA particles. This is hotly debated since prions are especially resistant to radiation, heat, and formaldehyde--things that normally destroy DNA and RNA. But, without DNA, how can it replicate in the brain? You see...that's why prions are still up in the air. For more information, read Richard Rhodes' Deadly Feasts. But, be warned, you may not like what you read. It's not too reassuring! Mad cow disease is an example of a prion disease.

So here are a few prion links:

• Leicester University's Prion Disease page
• Prionics homepage
• CJD Foundation, Inc.

• The Ebola Reston Virus (a nasty one)
• Malaria
• A trypanosome