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In today's episode, Dr. Destin Heilman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) talks to Adam about the structure and function of viruses. While debate still surrounds whether viruses are in fact living organisms, scientists agree that viruses have evolved to ingeniously manipulate cells. When a virus hijacks a cell, its intended host, it injects its nucleic acid into it. This injection transforms the host into a virus factory that creates new copies of the virus, and can eventually burst open and destroy the cell. Given the ability of some viruses to attack only specific kinds of cells, Dr. Heilman and his lab are working hard to discover how a virus can directly destroy only cancerous cells, with the hope of developing new cancer therapies. Join Adam as he learns how viruses function, and how the machinery of a virus could itself be hijacked to cure human disease. [06:19]
