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This Week in Parasitism
This Week in Parasitism (TWiP) is a podcast about eukaryotic parasites hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier. Following in the path of their successful podcast 'This Week in Virology' (TWiV), they strive for an informal yet informative conversation about parasites which is accessible to everyone, no matter what their science background.
As science Professors at Columbia University, they have spent their entire academic careers directing research laboratories focused on parasites (Dick) and viruses (Vincent). Their enthusiasm for teaching inspired them to reach beyond the classroom with new media. TWiP is for everyone who wants to learn about parasites in a relaxing way.
Music used on TWiP is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.
TWiP 44: Parasites provide a cricket subsidy for trout
- Details
- Created on Friday, 07 September 2012 22:09
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson explain how a nematode manipulates cricket behavior and alters the food web of a stream.
Right-click to download TWiP #44 (58 MB .mp3, 80 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- Nematomorph parasites alter food web of streams (Ecol Lett)
- Manipulation of cockle behavior by a trematode (Parasitology)
- Cockles infected by one parasite are more susceptible to a second (J Parasitol)
- Letters read on TWiP 44
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 43: Two remarkable host-parasite conflicts
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 23 August 2012 14:30
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson review how sickle cell microRNAs contribute to malaria resistance, and inhibition of innate immune responses by an enzyme from trypanosomes.
Right-click to download TWiP #43 (67 MB .mp3, 92 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- microRNAs involved in sickle cell resistance to Plasmodium (Cell Host Microbe)
- Trypanosome adenylate cyclases modulate innate immune response (Science)
- Letters read on TWiP 43
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 42: The tick keeps on ticking
- Details
- Created on Friday, 10 August 2012 20:09
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson answer listener emails about Leishmania, dual infection of vectors, tapeworms, liver flukes, toxoplasmosis, and much more.
Right-click to download TWiP #42 (90 MB .mp3, 75 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- Metabolic pathways required by Leishmania (Ann Rev Micro)
- Tapeworms in people's brains (Carl Zimmer)
- Poison Ivy
- Bovine tuberculosis disguised by liver fluke (Nature)
- Giant kidney worm (YouTube)
- Crowd-sourced games for telepathology
- Ivermectin for alcohol abuse
- Ivermectin and alcohol abuse in mice (Neuropharm)
- Etymology of Loa
- Worm removed from man's eye (BBC)
- Ticks keep on ticking (PLoS One article)
- Letters read on TWiP 42
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 41: Flying and crawling beasts
- Details
- Created on Wednesday, 27 June 2012 01:33
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson review medically important arthropods.
Right-click to download TWiP #41 (68 MB .mp3, 94 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- Thomas Eisner
- Incomplete metamorphosis in insects (jpg)
- Complete metamorphosis in an insect with aquatic immature stages (jpg)
- Complete metamorphosis in an insect with terrestrial immature stages (jpg)
- Letters read on TWiP 41
- Dickson distinguishes insects and arachnids (view below)
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 40: Doctor, there's a worm in my eye!
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 17 May 2012 00:26
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson discuss loaiasis caused by the filarial nematode Loa loa.
Right-click to download TWiP #40 (52 MB .mp3, 73 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- Albendazole therapy for US-bound refugees (NEJM)
- Microfilaria of Loa loa (png)
- Loa loa life cycle (png)
- Letters read on TWiP 40
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 39: I encyst, said the amoeba
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 26 April 2012 17:47
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson review the biology and pathogenesis of the amoebae Naegleria fowlerii and Acanthamoeba castellani.
Right-click to download TWiP #39 (61 MB .mp3, 85 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- N. fowlerii life cycle (CDC)
- N. fowlerii at Artful Amoeba
- Naegleria and amoebic meningoencephalitis (MDPH)
- First case of Naegleria PAM in Italy (Emerg Inf Dis)
- N. fowlerii in well water (Emerg Inf Dis)
- Recent N. fowlerii case in Minnesota (Clin Inf Dis)
- Beat the holiday bug (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Is your neti pot safe? (Dallas News)
- Acanthamoeba keratitis fact sheet (CDC)
- Letters read on TWiP 39
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 38: How to Trichomonas
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 03 April 2012 00:52
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson tackle the backlog of listener email, then consider the life cycle and pathogenesis of Trichomonas vaginalis, the flagellated protozoan transmitted by sexual contact.
Right-click to download TWiP #38 (53 MB .mp3, 74 minutes).
Links for this episode:
- T. vaginalis life cycle (jpg)
- T. vaginalis hydrogenosome (jpg)
- Letters read on TWiP 38
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 37: Dracunculiasis
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 23 February 2012 14:49
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson discuss the life cycle and pathogenesis of Dracunculus medinensis, the filarial nematode that causes dracunculiasis, or Guinea worm disease.
Right-click to download TWiP #37 (74 MB .mp3, 102 minutes).
Please help us by taking our listener survey.
Links for this episode:
- Dracunculus emerging from foot (jpg)
- Dracunculus medinensis life cycle (jpg)
- Guinea worm - WHO
- Guinea worm eradication - The Carter Center
- War against Guinea worm (YouTube)
- Caduceus vs staff of Asclepius
- Vincent and Dickson - the dogs (jpg)
- Letters read on TWiP 37
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 36: Trichuris and microbes plan a hatch
- Details
- Created on Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:54
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson review how gut bacteria help establish T. muris in the large intestine of mice.
Right-click to download TWiP #36 (50 MB .mp3, 69 minutes).
Please help us by taking our listener survey.
Links for this episode:
- T. muris exploits the intestinal microflora (Science)
- Trichuris Park (jpg)
- Letters read on TWiP 36
- Video of Dickson at the whiteboard (view below)
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailTWiP 35: Malaria control with David Fidock
- Details
- Created on Friday, 13 January 2012 02:08
- Written by Vincent Racaniello
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier
Vincent and Dickson discuss control of malaria with their Columbia University colleague David Fidock.
Right-click to download TWiP #35 (55 MB .mp3, 77 minutes).
Please help us by taking our listener survey.
Links for this episode:
- The Fidock laboratory
- Next-generation antimalarial drug discovery (Science)
- Insights into artemisinin resistance (Curr Op Inf Dis)
- Letters read on TWiP 35
Contact
Send your questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Subscribe (free)
Subscribe to TWiP (free) in iTunes, at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed or by emailAmerican Society for Microbiology
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Copyright © American Center for Microbiology 2012. All Rights Reserved.
