TWiV 115: Color me infected

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Created on Monday, 10 January 2011 01:20

Written by Vincent Racaniello

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Marc Pelletier

Vincent, Alan, Rich and Marc discuss the finding that a limited number of incoming herpesviral genomes can replicate and express in a cell, and controlling viral replication in Aedes aegypti with a Wolbachia symbiont.

Right click to download TWiV #115 (84 MB .mp3, 117 minutes). Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

• Replication and expression of limited numbers of incoming viral genomes
• The brainbow cassette
• Release of Wolbachia infected mosquitoes in Australia (story one, two)
• Journal articles on Wolbachia infection of mosquitoes (Cell, PloS Pathogens)
• Wolbachia discussion on TWiV 61
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 115

Weekly Science Picks

Marc - Homebrew bioreactor (photo, movie) - culture bottle and drive, oil-free vacuum pumps
Rich - Logitech Harmony Universal Remote
Alan - H.M.S. Challenger Reports
Vincent - Sequence of the strawberry genome and blog post by lead author

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

TWiV 114: Ten out of '10

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Created on Sunday, 02 January 2011 17:50

Written by Vincent Racaniello

Vincent, Alan, and Rich revisit ten compelling virology stories of 2010.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Right click to download TWiV #114 (64 MB .mp3, 88 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Ten virology stories of 2010:

1. XMRV, CFS, and prostate cancer (TWiV 113, 99, 98, 94, 89, 76, 70, 65)
2. The ongoing saga of polio eradication (TWiV 110, 79)
3. Viruses interact with the miRNA/siRNA system (TWiV 108, 72)
4. Endogenous viruses - retro and beyond (TWiV 105, 91, 88, 65)
5. Dengue virus progress and new outbreak (TWiV 111, 95, 82)
6. Colony collapse disorder (TWiV 104)
7. David Baltimore (TWiV 100)
8. Ode to a plaque (TWiV 68)
9. Vaccine contamination with circovirus (TWiV 86, 77, 75)
10. Universal influenza vaccines (TWiV 107)

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - Elementary schoolchildren publish a science paper (original article and editorial with video) - thanks Kathy!
Alan - White-nose syndrome blog
Vincent - Headway, headlines and healthy skepticism

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

TWiV 113: Alan Rein on XMRV

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Created on Sunday, 26 December 2010 21:21

Written by Vincent Racaniello

Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss the retrovirus XMRV with retrovirologist Alan Rein of the National Cancer Institute.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Alan Rein

Right click to download TWiV #113 (55 MB .mp3, 76 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

• XMRV: A new virus is prostate cancer? (Cancer Research)
• Detection of XMRV in normal and prostate tumor tissue (J Inf Dis)
• Reach for a scorecard (commentary, J Inf Dis)
• Retrovirology papers: one, two, three, four, commentary
• Integration sites of XMRV in prostate tumor DNA (J Virol, PLoS One)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 113

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - Word Lens
Alan - Tetenal Press Kit
Vincent - In the pipeline and Things I won't work with by Derek Lowe

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

TWiV 112: Creating a killer poxvirus

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Created on Sunday, 19 December 2010 18:13

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode 112 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich review the making of a virulent poxvirus by insertion of the gene encoding IL-4, and severe 2009 H1N1 influenza due to pathogenic immune complexes.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Download TWiV #112 (71 MB .mp3, 98 minutes). To download, right-click or control-click on the link, then select save as.

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

• Expression of IL-4 makes a killer poxvirus
• Additional studies on poxvirus-IL-4 recombinants
• Creation of killer poxvirus could have been predicted
• Interleukin regulation of Th responses
• Severe pandemic H1N1 disease due to immune complexes
• Unusually high influenza mortality in 18-65 years old
• The complement system
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 112

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - The Scientist's Top 10 Innovations 2010
Alan - Avian Vocalizations Center
Vincent - Microbial soap from Cleaner Science (thanks, Nadia!)

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

TWiV 111: Live at Florida Gulf Coast University

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Created on Monday, 13 December 2010 02:39

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #111 of the podcast This Week in Virology, the TWiV crew meets with members of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District at Florida Gulf Coast University to discuss dengue in Florida and how to control it.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Ed Fussell, Andrea Leal, and Amy Sargent

Links for this episode:

• Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
• Prof. Sharon Isern
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• CDC report on dengue in the Florida Keys
• Dengue in Miami
• Mosquito release in the Caymans (Oxitec press release - pdf)
• Concerns about mosquito release
• TWiV on Facebook - photos of TWiV 111
• Letters read on TWiV 111
• Video of this episode - Download .mp4 (136 MB) or .wmv (457 MB) or view below

Weekly science picks:

Rich - At the Bench, A Laboratory Navigator by Kathy Barker
Alan - DEEP Indonesia Underwater Photo Contest 2010 Winners
Vincent - HHMI resources for early-career scientists

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TWiV #111 (76 MB .mp3, 105 minutes)

TWiV 110: CSI virology

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Created on Sunday, 05 December 2010 04:37

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #110 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Dickson discuss bacteria that can utilize arsenic in place of phosphorus, the passing of Frank Fenner, polio outbreak in The Congo, solving criminal cases of HIV transmission, and classifying viruses by capsid structure.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Bacteria that utilize arsenic (Ed Yong's view)
• Frank Fenner passes away
• Polio outbreak in The Congo (virus isolation)
• Solving criminal cases with HIV evolution (press release)
• Definition of paraphyly
• Order to the viral universe
• International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 110

Weekly science picks:

Dickson - CDC's West Nile virus case count for 2010
Rich - The red bees of Red Hook
Alan - Arsenic-based life at XKCD
Vincent - PLoS iPad app

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TWiV #110 (68 MB .mp3, 93 minutes)

TWiV 109: Virología en México

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Created on Sunday, 28 November 2010 00:00

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #109 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent visits Mexico City and speaks with Rosa Maria del Angel and Ana Lorena Gutiérrez about virology in Mexico, and their work on dengue and caliciviruses.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rosa Maria del Angel, and Ana Lorena Gutiérrez

Links for this episode:

• Rosa's PNAS paper on proteins that bind poliovirus RNA
• Lorena's papers on influence of proteins that bind poliovirus RNA on tropism and attenuation
• CINVESTAV
• TWiV on Facebook

Weekly science picks:

Lorena - Caliciviruses by Hansman, Jiang, and Green
Vincent - Insights into dengue virus genome replication by Alcaraz-Estrada, Yocupicio, and del Angel

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TWiV #109 (58 MB .mp3, 80 minutes)

TWiV 108: Barking up the right Tre

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Created on Sunday, 21 November 2010 21:26

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #108 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Saul review the evolution of HIV-1 specific recombinases, and down-regulation of a host microRNA by a viral noncoding RNA.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Saul Silverstein

Links for this episode:

• HIV-1 proviral excision with an evolved recombinase
• Evolution of HIV-1 specific recombinases - review article
• Down-regulation of a host miRNA by a viral noncoding RNA
• Paring miRNAs through pairing - commentary
• GM mosquitoes wipe out dengue
• Virology faculty position, University of Maryland
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 108

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Where cinema and biology meet
Alan - Qiagen iApp
Vincent - Ask a biologist

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TWiV #108 (64 MB .mp3, 89 minutes)

TWiV 107: Warning - this virus contains email

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Created on Monday, 15 November 2010 02:15

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #107 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about poliovirus, social media, dengue, influenza, evolution, gel filtration, and much more.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• tre recombinase: paper one and two
• Universal influenza vaccines
• Mitochondrial and chlorophast phage-type RNA polymerase in plants
• Protein Data Bank
• Letters read on TWiV 107

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Protein Synthesis: An epic on the cellular level
Dickson - The Patchwork Mouse by Joseph R. Hixson
Alan - Bill Hammack's engineering videos
Vincent - Visual Science (thanks, Svetlana)

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TWiV #107 (68 MB .mp3, 94 minutes)

TWiV 106: Making viral DNA II

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Created on Saturday, 06 November 2010 20:47

Written by Vincent Racaniello

On episode #106 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Rich continue Virology 101 with a second installment of their discussion of how viruses with DNA genomes replicate their genetic information.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Figures for this episode (pdf)
• Letters read on TWiV 106
• Video of this episode - download .mov or .wmv or view below

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Google Health
Dickson - The Neandertal genome
Vincent - Lab techniques videos (thanks, Erik!)

Contact

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TWiV #106 (69 MB .mp3, 95 minutes)