Mary Beth Leigh Photo by JR Ancheta

I continue my series Northern Soundbites with a discussion about viruses with microbiologist Professor Mary Beth Leigh. There is a bevy of fine reports about COVID-19, locally on KUAC-FM, Alaska Public Media, and NPR. But I’ve been interested in the natural history of viruses, what do we know about their origins, evolutionary success and “life” cycle, even though, as you’ll hear, viruses aren’t strictly alive.