What a great man! He's the parent of a kid I teach, and just happens to be a prof in virology at UCT. So, of course, I asked him to come and speak to our Gd 11s about viruses, since that's in their syllabus for the year.He's a great speaker, plus it was just fantastic being able to hear first hand about current research in viruses (and some about bacteria). For example, did you realise that you have more bacteria cells in and on your body than all your other cells put together? Did you realise that it is possible to make nano-batteries from viruses?
Prof Rybicki also spent some time talking about swine flu, and it was SO nice to hear some sense being talked for once, instead of all this media hype about how we're all going to die. Prophets of doom seldom speak the truth. While there's no doubt that swine flu is vicious, it's nice to know that we actually don't need to panic, or run around like headless chickens thinking the end of the world is nigh.
He has a blog, in case anyone is interested, about all things viral.... Viroblogy.
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