MicrobeWorld

Good basic info on Swine Flu in humans and pigs. Read More

Merry Youle from the Small Things Considered blog ponders the potential size a virus can be:

"With such fascinating stories being told by Mimivirus and the other giants, people are now looking for them in more environments. Modified techniques are called for, as those used previously to spot ... Read More

James writes:

Dear TWIV,

I've really enjoyed hearing about the paths you and your guests took to enter the fields of virology and parasitology.

I was wondering if Dr. Dove could talk for a few minutes about how and why he decided to transition into sci... Read More

Todd writes:

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoy TWiM, and in particular, how much I enjoyed episode 32 featuring Rosie Redfield. I don't know how you find time to do this, but I'm gl... Read More

TWiV 142

Marshall writes:

Dear TWiV hosts,

I'm sure you've already heard about this, but I was curious what your take on this study is.

Read More

from @Lafrenchfille on Twitter:

French listen to your very cool podcast. So I can confirm, "Mimi" is french !

Peter writes:

Regarding the podcasting advice from the fellow in Israel.

Explain st... Read More

Luke writes:

Hello TWiV hosts,

I'm currently working as a technician in the biochemistry and molecular biophysics department at Columbia, having just received my BA from here in the Spring. First of all, I'd like to join the chorus of praises ... Read More

There is an excellent question in the comments to “Are all virus particles infectious?“: if the particle-to-PFU ratio for a virus stock is 10,000:1, and I infect 1,000,000 cells with 10,000 particles, how many plaques would I expect to observe? Answering this question provides insight into the p... Read More

Hosts: Alan Dove and Rich Condit

Ala... Read More

Judi writes:

To our TWIV leaders!

If you have a mac with Apps, please go to the app store and download cell images.... I think you'll have a great time going through them.

One other thing - I listened to your show on science reform with interest but I ... Read More

Ashley writes:

Vincent, I am a huge fan of TWIV and thank you and the others for taking time out of your busy schedule to do the program. I have my B.S. in Biology and Chemistry and would love to go back to school. I read textbooks, listen to podcasts from itunesU and... Read More

El podcast del Microbio 168 resumes the PNAS paper by Coleman and Chisholm, about the adaptation of microbial species to th... Read More

John writes:

Re the letter you got about a Spanish version of TWIV: ASM already has a nice Spanish microbiology podcast, called Mundos de los Microbios. Your TWIM co-host Elio has been on that podcast at least once that I’ve heard. Perhaps you could p... Read More

Merry Youle of Small Things Considered has authored a post that looks at Thiomargarita spp.

"Non-motile Thiomargarita was first discovered in 1999 off the Namibian coast, thus was named T. namibiensis. Its cells are large spheres, arranged in chains, each chain enclosed in a mucous sheath. Av... Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier,  Read More

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit... Read More

Vinayaka writes:

Some additional info that I gathered on viruses on the verge of elimination (may or may not be new to you):

It appears that the next virus on the list of FAO to eradicate is PPR virus ( Read More

Sarah writes:

Hello to the TWiV crew,

Here are a couple of picks I thought would be good for provoking thought and generating discussion...

While working on a project, I came across some papers attempting to define what "critical thinking" means. I app... Read More

Rohit writes:

Hi Dr Racaniello,

I am a long time listener of TWIV and really enjoy the informal scientific discussions. I listen to TWIV while working in the lab and am trying to catch up on TWIM and TWIP episodes too.

I have been dill... Read More

The genome nucleotide sequence has been determined of the bacterium GFAJ-1, which has been suggested to survive in high levels of arsenic and in fact incorporate arsenic into macromolecules. The sequence does not address the controversy over whether the bacterium can utilize arsenic. I suppose t... Read More