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 tetracoccal TWiM team visits Tardigrades on the Moon, and the twelve year quest to isolate an archaeon that provides insights into the emergence of the first eukaryotic cell.
The TWiM team presents an extracellular bacterium associated with Paramecium, and induction of antiviral immunity by a bacteriophage that prevents bacterial clearance.
The TWiM team reveals the oldest human plague from 4,900 years ago in Sweden, and engineering E. coli to become an endosymbiont in yeast, modeling the evolution of mitochondria.
Vincent, Michael and Elio note the passing of Stanley Falkow, give E. coli an archaeal membrane, and show how the microbiome can make worms live longer.
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.