Dr Claire Donald gave a fantastic lecture illustrating how various DNA and RNA viruses highjack host cell machinery to replicate their genetic material and synthesise proteins. The lecture contrasted replication sites, noting that DNA viruses typically utilise the nucleus while most RNA viruses operate within the cytoplasm. To overcome the limitations of their small genomes, viruses employ sophisticated techniques like alternative splicing, overlapping reading frames, and the production of polypoteins to maximise coding efficiency.