The family, filoviridae, of which the virus in question belongs, allows us to conjure up an image of the perpetrator; after all, the Latin filum alludes to its’ filamentous structure. A hidden threadlike set of molecules indeed. All filoviruses that have caused disease in humans have been endemic to sub-Saharan Africa only and it is here, in West Africa to be more
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Her name was Poppy – my first ever pooch whom guided me from my pre-Mexican bandit facial hair days, through to a completely new era in my life, as she bid me her final farewell during my first week of Edinburgh University. Half German Shepherd – Half Total Fluffpot, my fondest memories of her include her attempt to bite a
Read moreNever mind the glorious Victoria Secret types (well….). There are other kinds of wonderful models in this world. StatisticalModels, Public Health Efficacy models and low and behold….Animal Models. Often the target issue of animal right activists against the world of dirty pharma (and rightly so), animal models do and have played an insightful role into how medicines work before giving them a
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2 months on from turning 24, I’m still finding it difficult to come to terms with the ordeal. It feels like yesterday when a younger friend turned to me and said “Jeees Phil tomorrow you’re seventeen! Gettin’ old man….” and now after a quick head-to-toe examination in the mirror, I take in the battle-wounds accumulated since; A freckle on my
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A general analysis of….An In-Depth Analysis of a Piece of Shit: Distribution of Schistosoma mansoni and Hookwork Eggs in Human Stool. While the game of patience, CV-rewrites, recruitment calls and casual “I’m a solid team-player” line-drops continue – I’ve had a chance to read this bad-boy, along with Animal Farm and a layered spy novel by Ian McEwan (thoroughly enjoyable!). A Bit
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This is sort of an “all in one” miniramble, but nonetheless, let me update you on an eventful week. At the research unit I’ve been working at this summer for my MSc project – a couple of groups have formed. Namely, a desert club, of which Jackie, a Princeton PhD student, is clearly in-charge of through her relentless dictating of
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Settling into a recent Vietnamese breakfast ritual of mine, which I’m swiftly becoming accustomed to, of ‘Pho’ and ‘Bahn My’ accompanied by the beast of an engine starter that is “cà phê sữa đá”, I open up my e-mails to some worrying news. A colleague at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit – Jackie – had sent me a link
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Can a virus make your brain bigger? Well yes – quite literally so when we’re talking about Viral Encephalitis. A couple of case studies I’ve encountered on my journeys pushed me to find out more about this intriguing medical scenario. Viral encephalitis is a very worrying (clinically speaking) disease manifestation whereby your brain and central nervous system tissues swell up.
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Maybe. Just maybe. My colleague here at OUCRU has some preliminary results indicating that a hantavirus, most commonly found in rodents and able to cause haemorrhagic diseases (brutal!), is present within the Viet Nam Bat population. We’ll need clarification. But bloody hell – this is exciting. A hantavirus in a Bat is a RARE find. Nice work Meredith. More on
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I’m two weeks into life in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The food, as previously assured by friends who have visited in earlier times, is scrumptious. The heat – just what the Doctor ordered. The air leaves a lot wanting here, if I am honest, but its a big city. What else to expect? The reason for my touchdown
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