Failure to progress

Experiments on yeast cells that are hosts to a killer virus confirm that natural selection can sometimes reduce fitness.

Specificity Determination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Killer Virus Systems

Saccharomyces yeasts are widely distributed in the environment and microbiota of higher organisms. The killer phenotype of yeast, encoded by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus systems, is a valuable trait for host survival. The mutual relationship between the different yet clearly defined LA and M virus pairs suggests complex fitting context. To define the basis of this compatibility, we established a system devoted to challenging inherent yeast viruses using viral proteins expressed in trans. Virus exclusion by abridged capsid proteins was found to be complete and nonspecific, indicating the presence of generic mechanisms of Totiviridae maintenance in yeast cells. Indications of specificity in both the exclusion of LA viruses and the maintenance of M viruses by viral capsid proteins expressed in trans were observed. This precise specificity was further established by demonstrating the importance of the satellite virus in the maintenance of LA virus, suggesting the selfish behavior of M dsRNA.

Zealous clout of COVID-19: analytical research at sixes and sevens

This New Year’s wake-up call warned us of Democles’ sword in the form of COVID-19, an epidemic turned pandemic. Seeming to reach a novel and awful landmark every day, governments across globe are fighting on toes to contain its spread. The pandemic is accelerating and information is being updated and changing by the hour. Till date shattering causalities across globe have been reported to World Health Organization. Nevertheless, the world is responding to this novel enemy with urgency and purpose. The challenge is great, but the response has been massive. Record characterisation and multiple sequences of this novel pathogen are being shared on global platform leading to a lot of diagnostics to get developed. Currently no treatment is effective against COVID-19 and there is a desperate need for international solidarity for valuable therapeutics. Present article briefs some milestones achieved by the killer virus thereby posing a challenge to medical science.

The Wandering Demon: Cruising as a Horror Film

This chapter defines Cruising as a horror film directed in the modus of a cop thriller. When analysed closely it becomes clear that not one but several killers roam the Meatpacking District of New York, and in the end even the protagonist might be infected by the killer virus. Friedkin uses the idea of a wandering demon from The Exorcist to place disturbing uncertainty in his film.

Online Humour, Cartoons, Videos, Memes, Jokes and Laughter in the Epoch of the Coronavirus

From the onset of the indefinite deferral of our previously taken-for-granted lives, an abundance of humorous online cartoons, jokes, memes, videos and other satirical material relating to the COVID-19 outbreak—and its consequences—has emerged. Humorous responses to this dire global pandemic proliferate irrespective of location, nationality, ethnicity, age, gender and/or socio-political affiliations. Against a background of enforced lockdowns, quarantine, and sometimes gross political ineptitude, with a mounting daily global death toll, humour referencing this scourge continues to blossom. This may seem counterintuitive or inappropriate at a time of heightened anxiety and fear apropos of an invisible killer-virus, known only in diagrammatic—and, ironically, aesthetically pleasing—visual form. Online humour evoking the COVID-19 crisis is expressed recursively via intertextuality referencing literary, visual, written, oral or other “texts.” Interpictoriality is evident with memes that reconfigure renowned visual artworks. The internet enables copious discourse related to the COVID-19 eruption/disruption. Embedded in this article are examples to support the article’s theoretical basis, with intertextuality its major focus. Discussion follows, with speculation as to why humour, absurdity and wit are able to prosper in an environment of radical uncertainty and why joking about our parlous global predicament acts as a vital coping mechanism.

COVID-19: Global Preparedness, Challenges and Impact

Corona virus COVID-19 is a pandemic whose devastating effects were felt in all corners of the world and by all humanity of whatever age, gender, economic and social status from the beginning of January 2020 and the intensity increasing day-by-day. The patients that had symptoms were isolated while waiting for results. In some countries, self-isolation was encouraged while in others, people had to be put in quarantine facilities to cut down the spread chain immediately. Different countries identified quarantine centers where individuals were quarantined for 14 days upon which they would be tested. A philanthropist Bill gates, the Microsoft billionaire, committed himself to donating resources for developing a vaccine. Research centers directed their focus to establishing a cure or a vaccine for the killer virus. After four months of trials and tests, there was no sign of a cure. Many governments in the world applied a partial or full lockdown guided by the rate of infection and death. China was the first to call for a complete lockdown as it struggled with the new pandemic. The CoVID 19 pandemic has affected every facet of life; social, economic and mental. This has placed a lot of strain on governments and individuals. The economic status of many countries and individuals has been adversely affected and may take a long time before recovery.

Lessons from history

Approximately 6 months ago, as COVID-19 became the focus of our day-to-day life, it was constantly referred to as unprecedented. In fact, this word has been used to describe almost everything that has subsequently occurred. Unprecedented of course means ‘without previous instance, never before known or experienced’. At the same time the general thrust of many headlines in the media was to cast SARS-CoV-2 as a killer virus wreaking havoc on an undeserving and unsuspecting population.

Algunos datos del linfoma T/NK: a propósito de un caso

Los Linfomas T/NK (LTNK) son neoplasias poco frecuentes, de las cuales se tiene poca información bibliográfica y poca experiencia en su tratamiento, son de evolución rápida y con mal pronóstico. Se sabe que algunos factores de riesgo para desarrollar esta neoplasia son la exposición a pesticidas, solventes, la infección por el virus de Epstein-Barr(VEB) y la ascendencia asiática e hispanoamericana. Algunos de los factores pronósticos de mayor importancia son los estadios clínicos de Ann Arbor al momento del diagnóstico, lo cual va relacionado con lograr un diagnóstico oportuno ya que la mayoría presentan retraso en el diagnóstico. Otros factores importantes en el pronóstico son la extensión a Sistema Nervioso Central (SNC), la edad adulta y ciertos marcadores bioquímicos, tales como la deshidrogenasa láctica (DHL) y el fibrinógeno.Palabras claves: Linfoma T / Natural Killer, Virus Epstein-Barr, Clasificación Ann-Arbor.