TWiM explains how spindle-shaped Archaeal viruses evolved from rod-shaped ancestors to package a larger genome, and transcriptional recording by CRISPR acquisition from RNA.
TWiM explains the discovery of hotspots of genetic variation containing reservoirs of anti-phage systems in E. coli phages and their parasitic satellites, and pathogen desiccation tolerance promoted by hydrophilins.
TWiM reveals that the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine promotes multiple antibiotic resistance in E. coli, and treatment with Bifidobacterium lactis probiotic benefits patients with coronary artery disease.
TWiM explains the use of lavender oil to disrupt Listeria biofilms, and how treatment of catheters with liquid silicone reduces associated urinary tract infections.
TWiM welcomes new host Petra, and explains how a small protein helps ensure that E. coli utilizes a preferred carbon source, and a screening strategy to identify inhibitors of the type IV secretion system that is essential for virulence of a variety of bacterial pathogens.
Mark returns to TWiM to join in a discussion of soil microbiota as game-changers in restoration of degraded lands, and discovery of a centimeter-long bacterium, the biggest yet discovered.
In this food-centric TWiM, we reveal the microbiomes of carnivorous vulture bees and of Gala apples from all over the world.
Mark Martin returns to TWiM for a discussion of the frightening global burden of bacterial antibiotic resistance, and a solution to the problem of daylight nitrogen fixation in a cyanobacterium, despite the incompatibility of nitrogenase with oxygen produced during photosynthesis.
TWiM explains how bacterial symbionts regulate tick blood feeding activity, and the reasons why antibiotics exist.
On this episode of TWiM, how phages prevent other phages from invading their hosts without blocking their own reproduction, and plastic-degrading potential of microbes across the Earth.
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.