TWIV Read my Letter on Virus Like Particles

The nice and very smart folks at This Week in Virology www.twiv.tv read my letter on episode 118, starting at 1 hour and six minutes in.

Here's what I asked.

Hi:

Although they aren't viruses, could you please explain how virus like
particles are created and used in vaccines like Gardasil and Cervarix?
And that are being developed for flu vaccines as explained here
http://news.discovery.com/human/vaccine-virus-particles.html

It seems somehow magical that you can build something that is
structurally a virus on the outside, but is essentially an empty
shell. And that VLPs may be better than inactivated vaccines because
you get the all of the outside of the virus rather than perhaps just
broken parts (split virion flu vaccine) or selected parts (sub unit
flu vaccine).

Thanks
Sheldon
Toronto


I liked how  the answer begins. You put it perfectly