TWiV 90: Guano happens

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Created on Sunday, 11 July 2010 12:21

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #90 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich and Eric discuss identification of viruses in Northeastern American bats, vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with a military vaccinee, and identification of a new flavivirus from an Old World bat in Bangladesh.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Eric F. Donaldson

Links for this episode:

• Vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with vaccinee
• Smallpox vaccination overview
• Smallpox vaccine lesions (jpg)
• Smallpox hospital, Roosevelt Island, NY (photo 1, photo 2)
• Isolation of a flavivirus from bats in Bangladesh (PLoS Pathogens)
• Review on hepatitis G virus
• Dickson has been teaching at Singularity University and fishing in Bozeman MT (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 90

Weekly science picks:

Eric - Year of Darwin by Sean Carroll
Rich - March of the Penguins
Alan - Standing-height desks
Vincent - DengueWatch (thanks Richard!)

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TWiV #90 (64 MB .mp3, 89 minutes)

TWiV 89: Where do viruses vacation?

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Created on Sunday, 04 July 2010 17:13

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #89 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Alan review recent findings on the association of the retrovirus XMRV with ME/CFS, reassortment of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in swine, and where influenza viruses travel in the off-season.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Alan Dove

Links for this episode:

• Conflicting XMRV papers on hold
• Leak of PNAS paper
• CDC study on XMRV in CFS patients (Retrovirology) and Science update
• Where influenza viruses travel in the off season (EurekaAlert! and PLoS Pathogens)
• NPR article on Ebola siRNA treatment (thanks, Andreas!)
• Priming mechanism for reovirus entry (thanks, Agyeman-Badu!)
• Wired article on science PR (thanks, Dan!)
• Letters read on TWiV 89

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Tree of Life graphic
Vincent - TEDx Oil Spill

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TWiV #89 (56 MB .mp3, 78 minutes)

TWiV 88: A bug fix, an AIDS treatment, and an undead retrovirus

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Created on Sunday, 27 June 2010 15:07

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #88 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Marc discuss using a virus for beetle control, RNA based gene therapy for AIDS, and reconstitution of a endogenous human retrovirus.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier

Links for this episode:

• Controlling the palm rhinoceros beetle with a virus
• The virologist in the Hawaiian shirt
• Information on Orcytes rhinocerus nudivirus (one, two, three)
• RNA based gene therapy for AIDS
• Reconstitution of an infectious human retrovirus (PLoS Pathogens)
• Letters read on TWiV 88

Weekly science picks:

Marc - Apple iPad as a tool for writing, with Papers, Pages, and GoodReader
Alan - The Bacterium and the Bacteriophage
Vincent - Naturally Obsessed (thanks, Sharon!)

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TWiV #88 (66 MB .mp3, 91 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 87: A PHIREside chat with Professor Graham Hatfull

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Created on Sunday, 20 June 2010 18:48

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #87 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich hear from Professor Graham Hatfull how students in the Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) program learn about scientific inquiry by doing research on bacteriophages.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Alan Dove, and Graham Hatfull

Links for this episode:

• Bacteriophage Research: Gateway to learning science
• Mycobacterium smegmatis at NCBI
• Prof. Steve Cresawn
• Scientist infected with computer virus (thanks, Jason!)
• The Invisible ABCs
• Letters read on TWiV 87

Weekly science picks:

Rich - CDC Public Health Image Library
Vincent - March of the Microbes by John L. Ingraham
Alan – Great Microbiologists – A Lego Movie
Graham – Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas by Forest Rohwer

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TWiV #87 (62 MB .mp3, 86 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 86: Dark matter with Dr. Eric Delwart

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Created on Sunday, 13 June 2010 14:56

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #86 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich travel to the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco to speak with Eric Delwart about his work on virus discovery.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Eric Delwart

Links for this episode:

• List of Dr. Delwart's open-access journal articles (pdf) - to find each one, type PMID # into PubMed
• CDC says don't give rotavirus vaccines to infants with SCID
• The Brighton Collaboration
• Product sheet for RotaTeq (pdf - thanks, Sheldon!)
• Letters read on TWiV 86

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Google Crisis Response - Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Vincent - HHMI resources for teachers and students (thanks, Jim!)
Eric - Vaccine by Arthur Allen

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TWiV #86 (59 MB .mp3, 81 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 85: Hepatitis C virus with Professor Michael Gale

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Created on Sunday, 06 June 2010 15:36

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #85 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Michael Gale discuss the origin, pathogenesis, prevention, of hepatitis C virus, and how it evades innate immune responses.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Michael Gale

Links for this episode:

• The Gale Laboratory at the University of Washington
• Incredible view from the Gale laboratory (jpg)
• Evasion and disruption of innate immune signalling by hepatitis C and West Nile viruses (review)
• New potent HCV inhibitor
• HCV virion and genome structures at ViralZone

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TWiV #85 (40 MB .mp3, 56 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 84: Gators go viral

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Created on Monday, 31 May 2010 02:50

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #84 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich spoke with Dave Bloom and Grant McFadden about their work on herpesviruses and poxviruses in this episode recorded before an audience at the University of Florida, Gainesville - home of the Gators.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Dave Bloom, and Grant McFadden

Links for this episode:

• Epigenetic modulation of herpes simplex virus gene expression (thanks, Matthew!)
• The Red Queen and Tierra virtual environment: article one, two, three (thanks, Jesper!)
• Hand-held HIV detector (thanks, Jim!)
• Anti-angiogenic cancer therapy combined with oncolytic virotherapy (thanks, Bill!)
• TWiV at UF Gainesville (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 84

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Charles F. Littlewood photographs
Vincent - Not so humble pie (thanks, Sophie!)
Grant - The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo
David - Is Parkinson's Disease a prion disorder?

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TWiV #84 (71 MB .mp3, 99 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 83: An hour with Dr. Kiki

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Created on Sunday, 23 May 2010 11:06

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #83 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and special guest Dr. Kirsten Sanford talk about her career in science media, then consider whether smallpox eradication led to the AIDS pandemic, high fidelity RNA synthesis, and a new Ebola virus vaccine.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kirsten Sanford

Links for this episode:

• Does smallpox vaccine protect against HIV? (thanks, Srinivas; Washington Post and BMC Immunology)
• Was the deltaCRR5 mutation fixed in the human population by smallpox?
• A proofreader in the SARS coronavirus genome
• New ebola vaccine protects monkeys
• House of Numbers trailer, website, Wikipedia article (thanks, Levi!)
• Letters read on TWiV 83

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Evernote
Rich - The Knife Man by Wendy Moore
Vincent - The Pump Handle

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TWiV #83 (66 MB .mp3, 91 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 82: Immunology in silico

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Created on Sunday, 16 May 2010 22:11

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #82 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich talk about how thymic selection of T cells might lead to better control of HIV-1 infection, and a mouse model for severe antibody-induced dengue virus disease.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Effect of thymic selection of T-cells on control of AIDS
• Mouse model of antibody-induced severe dengue virus disease
• Natural antibody protects against viral infection
• Kary Mullis idea for fighting infections (thanks, Erik!)
• 40 nm resolution of fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (thanks, José)
• Letters read on TWiV 82

Weekly science picks:

Rich The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax
Vincent Proteopedia (thanks, Erik!)

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TWiV #82 (59 MB .mp3, 82 minutes)

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This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.

TWiV 81: Be a virus, see the world

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Created on Sunday, 09 May 2010 14:16

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #81 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich answer listener questions on viruses and gluten allergy, RNA silencing, influenza virus, herpes simplex virus, HIV/AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, manicure salons, and the koala tea of Marseilles.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Virus infections and gluten intolerance on TWiS (thanks Jesper!)
• Viral small RNAs in PLoS Pathogens (thanks Jason!)
• Canadian Summit Awards (thanks Jim!)
• Experimenting with phage at home (thanks Richard!)
• CRISPR discovered by a dairy company (thanks Joel!)
• Expedition to New Guinea to sample bird viruses - movie and blog entry (thanks Henrik!)
• Preventing herpes with arginine and lysine - pdf (thanks Anthony!)
• Chronic fatigue donors face rejection (thanks James!)
• The Koala tea of Marseilles is not strained (thanks Stephen!)
• The other Larson virus cartoon (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 81

Weekly science picks:

Rich Google Chrome browser 'speed test' (and how it was made)
Vincent Inside the Outbreaks by Mark Pendergrast

Contact

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TWiV #81 (68 MB .mp3, 94 minutes)

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-500 off a Drobo.