Vincent and Kathy visit Laura Newcomb at California State University San Bernardino, where they talk about Laura’s viral tattoos, and a protein that protects the mosquito brain from lethal flavivirus infection.

Vincent meets up with Michael and Steve to discuss their finding of a transmissible tumor in soft shell clams associated with a retrovirus-like element in the clam genome.

The TWiVsters explore mutations in the interferon pathway associated with severe influenza in a child, outbreaks of avian influenza in North American poultry farms, Ebolavirus infection of the eye weeks after recovery, and Ebolavirus stability on surfaces and in fluids.

The TWiVumvirate discusses a whole Ebolavirus vaccine that protects primates, the finding that Ebolavirus is not undergoing rapid evolution, and a proposal to increase the pool of life science researchers by cutting money and time from grants.