TWiV 25: Viral evolution

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Luis Villarreal

Vincent, Alan, and Luis talk about rabies in Viet Nam and Angola, needle-stick infections with ebolavirus and West Nile virus, and viral evolution.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #25 (46 MB .mp3, 67 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

• Furious rabies after an atypical exposure
• Rabies outbreak in Angola
• Ebolavirus needle stick injury in Germany
• West Nile virus needle stick injury in South Africa
• Antibody response to smallpox vaccine in humans (including Dr. Villarreal)
• The chemical formula for poliovirus is C_332,652H_492,388N_98,245O_131,196P_7,501S_2,340

• Because poliovirus is a quasispecies the number of atoms is a population average.
• Review article: Ten Reasons to Exclude Viruses from the Tree of Life
• Origin and Evolution of Viruses, second edition, edited by Esteban Domingo
• Origin of Group Identity by Luis Villarreal

Science blog of the week: Small Things Considered by Moselio Schaechter and Merry Youle
Science podcast pick of the week: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe
Science book of the week: Viruses and the Evolution of Life by Luis Villarreal

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]