Explaining Molecular Virology

It has been almost a month I'm in Universiti Malaya, pursuing my Master's Degree in Molecular Virology. I have seen gapping jaws by the very mentioned of this field of study and I beg to my dear readers not to do so because the term is not that very difficult to comprehend once I explained it to you.

Molecular virology is well, made out of two words namely "molecular" and "virology". The former relates with the term molecular biology, a study of biological entities at the level of a molecule (remember H2O?). These are very minute objects (you and I can't see it with the naked eyes) but they exist. This is different from other biological studies such as botany, entomology and so on that studied on larger than molecule entities (think of lions, bunga raya etc).

While virology is a study on virus, part of a larger study of minute organisms called Microbiology. Virus can be found in every corner of the world and some caused diseases such as flu (Influenza A H1N1?), diarrhea, etc. Again, viruses are very minute entities and nobody have seen viruses with un-aided eyes. One must use the electron microscopes to look at the physical nature of these viruses and to date scientists have seen thousands of them. But this method needs high-skilled personnel to operate it and expensive as well.

But there have been other methods to detect these viruses without even looking at it as in the case of electron microscopy. These methods born from molecular biology, again a biological study at the molecular level (can you see the connection now?).

Methods are various with the like of PCR, agarose electrophoresis and EIA to name a few. They are relatively cheaper and almost anybody abled-body can perform it, though quality of results can be improved through training.

To sum up, molecular virology is the study of virus using molecular biological methods. As simple as that and gapping jaws shall now be closed. :)