Mij
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
The common wisdom about catching a virus is that in a few days—a few weeks, tops—everything will be back to normal. And in many cases, that’s true.
With the rise of new tools in molecular biology, it’s becoming clear that viruses and other pathogens can remain in the body or otherwise affect its workings for a surprisingly long time. “Doctors often use this as a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” admits Dr. Chris Smith, a virologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the U.K. and host of the Naked Scientists podcast. But, he continues, “we are beginning to realize that there is this whole world out there that we had absolutely no insight into.”
With the rise of new tools in molecular biology, it’s becoming clear that viruses and other pathogens can remain in the body or otherwise affect its workings for a surprisingly long time. “Doctors often use this as a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” admits Dr. Chris Smith, a virologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the U.K. and host of the Naked Scientists podcast. But, he continues, “we are beginning to realize that there is this whole world out there that we had absolutely no insight into.”