The TWiMmers explore detection of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces in an ophthalmology examination room, the ability of stressed populations of Yersinia bacteria to survive antimicrobial treatment within host tissues, and how volatile organic chemicals produced by soil microbes attract arthropods which in turn disperse bacterial spores.
Mark Martin joins TWiM to describe nano-sized parasitic bacteria that inhabit humans, and the construction of whole-cell biosensors for detecting arsenic in drinking water.
TWiM reveals a potential mucus-busting weapon for patients with cystic fibrosis, and bacteria in the intestinal tract that can oxidize cholesterol, leading to lower levels of the lipid in blood.
TWiM reveals that methane-producing bacteria might survive beneath the surface of Mars, and identification of a cytopathogenic toxin in a bacterium associated with preterm birth.
The TWiM team discusses eradicating racism in academia and STEM, and a peptide from commensal bacteria that protects skin from damage caused by MRSA.
The TWiM team explains how breathing can transmit SARS-CoV-2, and how lack of breathing leads to loss of mitochondria in a multicellular parasitic animal.
The TWiM team explains an experimental vaccine to prevent E. coli urinary tract infections, and the remarkable three-way symbiosis of narnaviruses, bacteria, and fungi.
The TWiM team discuses saliva as more sensitive for SARS-CoV-2 detection in COVID-19 patients than nasopharyngeal swab and how Mycobacterium tuberculosis sulfolipid-1 activates nociceptive neurons and induces cough.
A ferret model for infection by SARS-CoV-2, and how Neolithization lead to emergence of a human bacterial pathogen.
Vincent, Elio and Michael reveal the ASM COVID-19 summit, and how Salmonella injects a protein into the cell to drive suppression of the immune response.
About the Hosts of TWiM
Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D. (@profvrr) is Higgins Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Columbia University Medical Center. He has been studying viruses for over 40 years. He teaches virology to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as medical, dental, and nursing students. His lectures are available online at iTunes University, YouTube, and Coursera.
Michael Schmidt, Ph.D. (TWiM) is the Professor and Vice Chairman of Microbiology and Immunology and Director of the Office of Special Programs at the Medical College of South Carolina. Dr. Schmidt is leading a team of infectious disease specialists from three health sciences centers and engineers from industry.