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TWiP 10 letters
Beki writes:
I am a second year graduate student, and the lab that I joined works on Leishmania and Trypanosomes. I originally discovered TWiP via TWiV (where my true interests are - but that is a long story; Matt Frieman came and gave a seminar and gave a small plug for TWiV). I am really excited to have the opportunity to listen to highly informed people talk about parasitism. I request more frequent episodes - I will start preparing for my qualification exams soon and I am sure that this podcast will be invaluable - especially if you get to Leishmania soon (hint,hint).
I would also like to say that listening to a podcast is like having a viral/parasitic infection - usually there are only a few people that show clinical symptoms (i.e. send an email or post a comment), but there are usually many more who have asymptomatic infections (i.e. just listen). So in the end, there are many people who would like more episodes, but only a small percentage will actually contact you to request more. I am very grateful for the time you both take to prepare and do this podcast - keep them coming!
Bernhard writes:
Dear TWiVers and TWiPers, Last time I just suggested a Pick of the Week, but now I'm ready to pose a question: In a science news compilation, I recently learned about the work by Shigeto Yoshida et al. of Jichi Medical University (supposedly reported recently in 'Insect Mulecular Biology') on genetically engineering mosquitos to secrete an antigen from Leishmaniosis in their saliva. The idea being that being bitten by such a mosquito would trigger antibodies against the protozoans. The regulatory issues with such an approach are, however, quite severe since you cannot control who 'gets the shot'. However, I've since heard a podcast on Australian wildlife being threatened by picking up diseases from farm animals and species introduced by the Europeans like rabies. Would it be possible to use the above approach to immunize wildlife, say, using a mosquito that's specific to the wild animal and doesn't bite humans? Would the supposed specificity help with the regulatory issues and provide a 'proof-of-concept' for the approach?
Just an idea.
Hope you can keep TWiV and TWiP going for a long time!
Bernd
Ryan writes:
I love the podcast! I am a grad student in microbiology and this podcast along with TWiV is a great part of my week. I study bacteria so we need a TWiB too! Thanks again
Ashlee writes:
Dear Dr. Despommier, My name is Ashlee and I am a graduate student at CUMC and an enthusiastic fan of both TWIP and TWIV. Recently, I was listening to the podcast "This Amercan Life" episode 404 entitled "Enemy Camp" which features a segment called "As the Worm Turns". This brief story was about a man who believes that hook-worms have cured him of his allergies and asthma by acting as immune system modulators in an example of what has been coined the 'hygiene hypothesis' for immune system dysfunction. The man subsequently went on to sell his hookworms to other individuals under the guise that they are a 'cure-all' for autoimmune disorders until he was threatened with arrest and fled the country.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/404/enemy-camp-2010
Considering that 'This Amercian Life' has such a large audience, I'd imagine that this story has generated a lot of interest in the 'hygiene hypothesis' among the general public and would make a great topic for an upcoming TWIP episode. Having had an interest in autoimmune disorders and the hygiene hypothesis in particular for years, I think it would be great to hear your take on this as an expert in the field of parasitology.
Sincerely, Ashlee
TWiP 9 letters
James writes:
One of the other science based podcasts I love listening to is an actual radio show in NZ called Our Changing World. This week the final story was on Hookworms and some researchers studying it, looking for a vaccine, and seeing if they could take out the anti inflammatory ability of the Hookworm and turn it into a drug or treatment without the downside of having to be infected by the worm itself. I thought you guys and the listeners would enjoy it and its a short 22 minutes.
You can find a link to the segment here http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld
Or if it has fallen off the front page here are links to the mp3 and ogg versions of it:
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ocw/ocw-20100401-2146-Hookworms-048.mp3
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ocw/ocw-20100401-2146-Hookworms.ogg
And before I forget, insert platitudes on how awesome TWiP is and how it needs to become a daily show here. ;)
Kind regards,
James
New Zealand
Peter writes:
One of your emails mentioned larval stage parasites. If you consider placental mammal gestation, I think the embryo and developing offspring in utero fulfils many of the criteria of a parasite. It basically 'plugs-in' and takes everything it needs from the host (mother) until it reaches the next stage.
An intelligent egglaying (oh, say martian...) species may well view this as a hideous form of parasitism.
Nick writes:
First off I when I hear your ending song and thought it sounded like Ronald jenkes and just saw it was, I like his stuff.
So I heard on this American life podcast last week a story about a guy who heard about hook worms having an effect on wether a person has asthma or alergies. So he went to Africa and walked around in the poop fields and got the hook worm. When he gets home his alergies are gone. What do you think about that? I have alergies to cats, should I go get some worms? This was also first on a podcast of wnyc's radiolab which I highly recommend.
Jim writes:
Tapeworm brain infection 'serious health concern'
Tapeworm infections of the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures, appear to be increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states, Loyola University Health System researchers report.
Brian writes:
I heard that every vertebrate has it's own tapeworm, but what is the human tapeworm? In other words, if a tiger eats a human, what tapeworm does the tiger get?
Thanks
P.S. Now I want to find some fake gravid proglotids and leave them in my roommates bed.
Gopal writes:
Saw this piece in The New York Times and remembered Dick talking about the life cycle of the pig tapeworm. -- Gopal Raj, a science journalist in India and a regular listener of both TWiP and TWiV
Global Update: Kenya: Pig Farmers Are Focus of Effort to Stop Spread of Parasite That Causes Epilepsy
By DENISE GRADY
A new program teaches farmers to tether or confine their pigs to keep them away from human waste.
Arsen writes:
Hey. You talking about fish tapeworm reminded me of another interesting fish parasite: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/tongue-eating-parasite-discovered.php
This fellow eats fish tongue and replaces it.
Keep up the good work
Arsen
Sky writes:
Just listened to the last episode "TWiP 7: Tapeworms are fantastic!", and you know what?You both are fantastic almost like the Tapeworms!
thank you : )
Sky
Brent writes:
I love the podcast!!! You've been talking about tapeworms. Can you talk more about the treatment for tapeworms? How does the treatment work? Does it kill the tapeworm or just force it out of the body? Are there any issues or side effects with the treatment?
Thanks,
Brent
Michael writes:
Kaja writes:
TWiP 8 letters
Christina writes:
Dear Vincent and Dick Just a quick message to say thank you for this informative and fun podcast series, I have enjoyed all three episodes and hope to listen to many more. Jusy the right thing for a former leishmaniac, now teache Shawn writes: Hi I just found your podcast and am enjoying it immensely I just have one nagging question about the first episode where it was said there was no parasites more complex than insects. I wondering about lampray witch i find kind of horrifying and then I also was thinking of vampire bats. Thank for the podcast and your time. Michael writes: Hey guys, I love the show, but am disappointed that it is only once a month! Please do at least twice a month. (I'm sure we'll be begging for every week then) I would also love if you would talk some more about how the body will respond to some of these parasites, in regards with the various humoral responses. (How will the parasites you are talking about show up in the blood chemistry) Destanie writes: Hi I recently started listing to twiv a few weeks ago, through which I found twip. I must say I didn't think that parasites could be so interesting! I love what you guys are doing and the only thing I would change is the frequency! I'd love to hear more. Jessie writes: Hi Dr. Racaniello and Dr. Despommier, I was wondering if you could go over information about tapeworms. Could you also discuss the myths vs. facts of tapeworms. For example, can tapeworms help you lose weight? I enjoy listening to your show and hope it continues for a very long time. Mike writes: I’m a garbage truck mechanic who is hoping to teach High School biology upon retirement. I received a master’s degree in Chemical and Life Sciences from UOM College Park last year and wrote my thesis on the nitrogen cycle in wastewater treatment. TWIV and TWIP are my favorite podcasts. Your knowledge, experience and Socratic teaching style make listening and learning a joy. I’m definitely in the camp that would like to hear a new episode twice per month. The world (borrowing a line from Dr. Mark Crislip) needs more TWIP. It would also be wonderful if you could entice a bacteriologist to join your crew and add TWIB to the line-up. I am cc’ing this email to my 18 year-old granddaughter who plans to study microbiology at UC Davis. She is interested in leprosy and thinks rifampicin can be an effective drug for treatment if modified to reduce its hepatotoxicity. I’ve told her that MRSA, AIDS or malaria research would be better bets for grant writing. Before I get to my question, I’d like to mention the two most startling bits of information Dr. Despommier related in TWIP 5, paraphrasing: 1) Some scientists believe that human aging genes are an aberration. 2) Type 1 diabetes may be caused by an over zealous immune system response to a virus with an antigenic appearance similar to that of pancreatic islet cells. I know these were intended as tangential remarks, but they piqued my curiosity. Perhaps you can revisit the concepts in the future. TWIP 5 question: In the Trichinella nurse cell illustration on your webpage (see below) should one of the venules have been identified as an arteriole? The Wikipedia entry (apologies, I didn’t look for a primary source) for venule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venule shows blood flow as artery to arteriole to capillaries to venule to vein. Wikipedia’s entry for sinusoid has no illustration, but equates capillaries with sinusoids, noting the latter’s discontinuous endothelial cells to allow protein entry and exit from the bloodstream. If your illustration is correct, does it mean that larvae prefer venous blood exclusively because Trichinella is an obligate anerobe? And, if that is the case, how is a pressure differential maintained to move blood through the sinusoids? Thank you and more power to TWIP! Jeff writes: You have a great set of shows going. I’ve been listening to both TwiV and TWiPa (I think TWiP is reserved for This Week in Photography, isn’t it?) I’m a lab tech at the CDC working on anaerobic bacteria (specifically C. difficile) and while I’m somewhat familiar with the workings of viruses (Cell Bio degree) I think the workings of parasites are fascinating. I’m only a bit familiar with them and their lifecycles are amazingly complicated. Also, I enjoy the random tangents with interesting anecdotes from science history. Keep ‘em coming. And I’d love to hear more TWiPa The current schedule is not enough. You’ll have to find somebody who specializes in bacteria so you can cover the three major sources on infection. There’s lot’s to talk about in the bacterial world. Last: I think you said the Jungle was written by Sinclair Lewis in one episode? It was Upton Sinclair. Jim writes: Thanks again, gentlemen, for an excellent podcast. Jesse writes: Hello Drs. Vincent and Dickson! Jesse writes: I know this has nothing to do with viruses or parasites. I thought it was interesting to hear Dr. Despommier explain what vertical farming is along with the benefits. CNN : Eco Solutions : Vertical farming Paul writes: Dear Drs I am a retired chemist who is not that excited about chemistry any more but am fascinated by virus and other human diseases. I am a devoted listener and would like more TWIP, I find audio learning much more effective than reading, keep up the good work. My daughter works in biotech and also listens to your podcasts so we have interesting things to talk about besides grand children. We feel that diseases will play an increasingly important role in the future of mankind as the planet becomes more crowded and climate change puts more stress on human populations, understanding these things will help us prepare our progeny for an uncertain future. Thanks for helping with my education. Questions: Could the pork tape worm be a potential for bioterrorists? Potential scenario : Set up a pig farm in Mexico, infect pigs with tape worm, harvest the eggs from the pig manure, contaminate fresh produce ( such as lettuce) grown in Mexico bound for the US with the eggs and let nature take its course. It seems to me that this would be hard to detect because there would be no acute infectious out break and could go on for months with lettuce being shipped all over the US. Would this be a significant public health problem? I often travel to Mexico and would like to be able to protect myself from tape worm infections, I got the idea from this podcast there is no defense if food gets contaminated after cooking. Did I get this right? Is there any spice, like chile peppers, that might prevent the eggs from hatching? Anxiously awaiting your reply. Lindsay writes: Hey guys! I am currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan, where I study infectious disease epidemiology and disease ecology. My primary interests lie in the ecological factors that give rise to certain parasitic and environmental infections, and also the evolutionary ecology of pathogen systems. I have been learning a bit about the evolutionary ecology of parasites and think that that topic would make for a really interesting conversation. This coming summer, I will be working on a project involving malaria transmission in a sub-Saharan Africa urban center. Because malaria and other invertebrate-borne parasitic infections are such big deals in the developing world, I hereby request some casually educational back and forth rapport on those topics. I was sure glad to hear a new episode - I was worried that the project had been given up. Keep up the good work. Michael writes: Hi Vincent and Dickson, Thought you might want to share a link to the CDC concerning the basics of common parasitic invaders if you haven't already done so. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/Default.htm Keep up the great work with TWIP. Gary writes: First, I just want to thank you for a great podcast. I find it both educational and entertaining. I was wondering if either of you have read about a treatment, developed at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, that uses gold nanoparticles that attach to toxoplasmid-hunting antibodies. The gold carrying-antibodies then spread through the circulatory system, affixing themselves to parasites in the blood. Once the gold particles are well distributed and widely attached to the parasite, a laser heats up the gold, incinerating the parasites. According to the researchers, the laser could be tuned to the so-called "tissue window", a wavelength of light to which the human body appears transparent. That way, the laser can pass harmlessly through the skin, burning up the parasites along the way. I came upon the article "Gold nanoparticles take out brain parasite" in Cosmos Magazine and found it very interesting and I would like to hear both of yours comments on the technic in a future eposode of TWIP. Here is the link to the article: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3345/gold-nanoparticles-take-out-brain-parasite?page=0%2C1 Thanks again, I look forward to your next podcast.
I am a pre-med student and love to learn from TWiV and TWiP.
Thanks for your time.
You know I can't keep up with all this. You keep adding links to other podcasts and books and topics that need to be studied and my garden is starting to grow, and I now have a used text on biochemistry, one on microbiology and the 2-vol virology set you so kindly sent, Vince.
I finally just gave up on your Virology Lecture 10 (transference or translation); watched it, but just too many new terms, like elongation, that represent a myriad of microcosms of knowledge. Still it's fascinating to hear and watch, and some of it does soak in.
Your asides, like the venules and sinusoids in this TWIP, oftentimes have more meaning and value to me than the more technical information. It's like little bits of critical information that click into place, the Ah-hah wow! type moments.
Dick, the details of your career is so much more enlightening as representing what the majority of science is about than the rare example of a Nobel Prize winner's work. You provide that huge base of knowledge built one jigsaw piece at a time that's needed that leads to breakthroughs. God bless you for your patience and perseverance.
Thanks, too, for the rundown concerning sushi. I've seen many mentions of flash-freezing fish for sushi to insure product quality, but no one wants to point out freezing kills parasites, too. I'm also pleased to hear that marine parasites are not zoonotic -- is this correct or an over simplifciation? It would explain why we don't drop dead after falling in the ocean, considering the quantity of microorganisms there.
I need to ask, now, if there isn't a growing need to make a list of all the research projects and topics in need of further discussion that you two, and your guests, have noted in TWIP and TWIV. Do you have notes about each one of these? I'm still working on transcriptions and eventually one should be able to consolidate all of those, so searches can be made, but that may not help much.
I listened twice to this TWIP and TWIV 72 (lagging behind on those, it seems). What a powerhouse, you guys.
Thanks, again.
I am still enjoying this podcast ("so far"), and discovering that multicellular parasites are even more fascinating than I had thought! I had a comment about something that was mentioned in episode 6 though:
When I took a medical parasitology class in college, the professor said that when the pork tapeworm is living in a person, it can sometimes get so long that it loops around up into the stomach, where it releases eggs which then hatch and reinfect that person as juveniles, causing cysticercosis and such serious problems. Is this incorrect? I know Dr. Despommier mentioned that it might not happen because the immune system would prevent reinfection. If it IS correct though, then maybe on that House episode you mentioned, the woman had an adult Taenia solium growing in her gut from the ham, which laid eggs in her stomach, resulting in the neurocysticercosis. Is it possible?
Thanks for the podcast!
TWiP 4 letters
Rich writes:
Here is a composite of 384 electron microscope photographs, combined into one image so that you can zoom and pan:
http://gigapan.org/gigapans/27625/
I think I can see several species of parasites on the barnacle, and perhaps parasites upon them. I have heard you recommend Powers of 10 in the past, and I think this is a good extension of this type of work. The photo reminds me of this poem, which I first saw in a computer science book, but googling suggests this is the original:
The Vermin only teaze and pinch Their Foes superior by an Inch. So
Nat'ralists observe, a Flea Hath smaller Fleas that on him prey, And
these have smaller Fleas to bite 'em, And so proceed ad infinitum.
[1733 Swift Poems II. 651]
Anyway, I know Rich and Molly, who made the picture. If you have any ideas for this sort of thing, Rich might take requests!
Tom writes:
Some parasitism jokes from science comedian Brian Malow who jokes among other things that a virus is "the ultimate David and Goliath" when compared with humans.
'A Virus Walks Into a Bar...' and Other Science Jokes - Brian Malow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7DkeQ0roAM
Felix writes:
Vincent, Dick,
you guys are fantastic!
THANK YOU
I am loving TWIP and the way you guys work together makes it really fun to listen to.
So far it is easier to follow than TWIV, presumably because (a) it is the start of the series and (b) parasites being larger than vaccines we don't have to know all about dna replication and intra-cellular machinery.
I have _watched_ the beginning of TWIV60 and I think it looks great to be able to show us the occasional picture or diagram. I hope that it doesn't add to the required effort to much so that you can use it often. Obviously too much use of it would break the podicast-iness of the shows which I expect you would be reluctant to do.
My only concern is that I have to wait 1 month for the next episode of TWIP!
Best wishes
Felix
Jesse writes:
Wow, I've never been around for the birth of a podcast before. This one was quite informative and entertaining; perhaps Dick should write an autobiography!
I think you missed something in your scale of parasites though: parasitic plants. Here's an example
(http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/indian_pipe.htm): Indian pipes are plants that do not produce chlorophyll, so they form a relationship with fungi similar to mycorrhizal symbioses (in which plants give carbon to a fungus and the fungus gives something, such as phosphate, in return), except in this case the parasite takes nutrients from the fungus without giving anything back. I was quite fascinated when I discovered this.
Anyway, thanks for TWiP. Eukaryotic parasites are pretty interesting to me, and I wish this podcast were more frequent, but I'll take what I can get.
Thanks,
Jesse
Etienne wrote:
Great first episode, but once a month doesn't seem enough. Maybe every 2 weeks?
Mike8 wrote:
Hi Professor, Great first podcast. I'm glad you began with the basics. You answered many questions I've been wondering about, such as: Are archaea infectious? What range of parasites exist and why are they here? What IS a parasite? ...I also enjoyed the brief recounting of your professional career, especially during the early years. I look forward to future episodes and would like to hear more about mycoplasma and rickettsia. And, if you feel so inclined, it would be interesting to hear a further discussion of the limitations on host populations caused by parasites, vs. the limitations caused by predators, habitat and availablity of food.
William wrote:
Dear Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier,
The long awaited TWIP inaugural episode fully met my TWIV set expectations. Though I might be delusional due to some pathology, I this shows appeal to match or even exceed TWIV’s. So allow me to start the clamoring early for increased episode frequency, assuming you have the time to produce them.
I find parasitism fascinating and profound. On TWIV we've been compared to mobile microbial habitats. Isn't our very existence still thought due to structures that originated as a type of parasitism such as mitochondria?
And lest you have any doubt regarding the widespread public appeal, note the popularity of parasitic monsters that haunt the public imagination such as Alien, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (doesn't this count), zombies, and even vampires (aren't vampire bats parasites?).
I sincerely appreciate your wonderful creative efforts that succeed in bringing the wonder of science to both the public at large and subject area experts alike.
Respectfully yours,
William
Oxandbull writes:
Guys, please make it every 2 weeks! I think listeners of TWIV won't mind at all if 1 episode is sacrificed in the name of TWIP. Hope to hear more from TWIP soon. John writes: Is there an evolutionary advantage for long-lived parasites to be more benign to their hosts? My intuition is that a parasite that makes a long-term home in a host has part of its fitness determined by the continued well-being (or at least survival) of the host, while aparasite that only sticks around for a few weeks has much less of its fitness determined in that way.
Lisa Ann writes:
Dear Drs, Dick "Emeritus" Despommier and Vincent Racaniello,
(I know that you are backed up with emails so I do not expect for this to be read on air)
Again, another super subject and podcast! This Thanksgiving, I have you both, Dr. Dove, and all of your guests from TWIV and now this new podcast, to be grateful to for a fascinating year of listening and learning.
In the discussion of "what is a parasite" and archaea; you touched upon a subject that I hadn't fully considered before. How the ecology of all life on earth is an historic,shifting , complex , interactive landscape and that human beings are not the center of and certainly not the dominant species. Contrary to my previous and embarrassingly unexamined beliefs, I have come to the awakening that we are not " the most special of all ". As a Nurse, all roads in my discipline are human- health -focused and all other life forms seem to be generally regarded as the aberration and therefore ,the threat. I had not thought much about our part in a whole medical ecology and framework until I listened to your first TWIP show. Since then, in my digging around in open access research articles, I found a paper that I believe rings with the message that Dick was conveying. If not, or you have read this particular paper, forgive me. I found it very interesting and it has further opened my mind to a new perspective on how to view human health. That is that human health actually relies upon the condition ,resources, energy demands, and "determination" of innumerable organisms surrounding us. If we can see ourselves in a more humble light, perhaps some new medical advances can be made that as of yet,have been out of our reach due to our simple arrogance. Here is a link to the paper from" Gut Pathogens", titled "The case for biocentric microbiology".
http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/1/1/16
Cheers,
Lisa Ann
TWiP 3 letters
Björn writes: (first letter to TWiP)
Hi Dick and Vincent,
My name is Björn. I am a biochemist and PhD student working on trypanosomes here in Germany. I am a long time listener of your twiv podcast and just listened to the first twip show. What a great podcast!
I email you to express my gratitude for your weekly commitments and especially I wanted to praise twip - I think the constant stream of questions from Vincent enabled Dick to focus and bring your intended messages home.
Thanks for all your efforts,
Björn
Etienne wrote:
Great first episode, but once a month doesn't seem enough. Maybe every 2 weeks?
Hussein wrote:
A very promising 1st episode. Thanks very much. Looking forward for more episodes and hope it becomes more frequent.
Marc wrote: (Pelletier of Futures in Biotech, twit.tv/fib):
Great job on TWIP. Despommier's story was great. Your audio was excellent too.
There should be a history of science podcast out there. Would be a lot of fun.
Sophie writes:
Hey Dick and Vincent
First of all I want to say that you guys do a great job and I got very excited when I heard you also wanted to make a podcast about parasites. You guys are great and I learn so much from both podcasts.
I'm studying biotechnology 3-semester at the Technical University of Denmark, but I'm planning to go into immunological bioinformatics, so I can also use it for my studies:)
I have a question about the size of parasite genomes, I am reading the newest edition of the "Brock Molecular Biology of Microorganisms" you guys mentioned in the last TWIP, and I'm afraid I got a bit confused (at page 354, chapter 13) it states that "Apart from the strange case of Trichomonas, parasitic eukaryotic microorganisms have genomes containing 10-30 Mbp...". So when you say that they have larger genomes is it only compared to related organisms or do they have bigger genomes than expected for their complexity? Maybe it is just Trichomonas that has a very big genome, but I would really like you to talk a bit more about it.
Thank you so much
Sophie
P.S. Sorry about the english, it's my second language.
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