Virus Structure and Evolution

University of Massachusetts > STEM > 2008 Virus Structure and Evolution

VIRUS STRUCTURE, VIRUS EVOLUTION AND THE DARWIN BICENTENNIAL

A hands on computer workshop; PDPs, parking, and snacks provided

FREE, BUT SPACE IS LIMITED AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

Many of the illnesses high school students and teachers contract are caused by viruses, including head colds, influenza, cold sores, and some gastrointestinal problems. Understanding the distinct three dimensional structure of virus particles is one of the better ways to organize knowledge about different classes of viruses, and the different diseases they may cause. Most of the effective mechanisms for preventing viral infection, such as vaccination, involve our antibodies binding to the structural proteins of the viral capsid. This presentation introduces the use of the international virus structure database VIPER for use in the high school classroom. Examples presented include poliovirus, herpes virus, influenza and HIV.

Many problems in preventing viral infection relate to the rapid  evolution of new viral strains, such as with flu outbreaks. Thus Virus  Structure and Evolution can be a useful unit during the upcoming 2009 Darwin Bicentennial year, which marks the 200th anniversary of his birth and  the 150th anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species. The presentation will end with consideration of the importance of teaching evolutionary mechanisms in modern biology and some of the barriers to proper treatment in the high school classroom.

Jonathan King is Professor of Molecular Biology at MIT and an expert on the structure and assembly of bacterial viruses. Prof. King is a past president of the national Biophysical Society, a former Guggenheim Fellow, and a recipient of the US NIH MERIT Award. Long involved in issues of science education, he is currently heading the Massachusetts Darwin Bicentennial Project, which is working to link high school science teachers and bioscience research faculty to strengthen the teaching of evolutionary mechanisms in K-16 classrooms.

Questions: Contact Mort Sternheim, 413-545-1908

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