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.

The TWiVles talk about endogenous viruses in plants, sex and Ebolavirus transmission, an outbreak of canine influenza in the US, Dr. Oz, and doubling the NIH budget.