TWiV 1245: Grabbing herpesvirus with both arms

TWiV reviews fradulent science becoming an industry, FDA may not authorize Pfizer COVID vaccine for young kids, Kennedy won’t push strict pesticide regulations conserved betacoronavirus sequences recognized by human T cells, and Bispecific antibodies protect against herpes recurrent disease.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1245 (65 MB .mp3, 109 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Weekly Picks

Brianne – New Study Suggests Using AI Made Doctors Less Skilled at Spotting Cancer
Alan – Save the Microbes effort gets off the ground
Vincent – Dr. Vinay Prasad’s Catch-22: The Only Way He Can Truly Succeed at His Job is to Get Fired Again

Listener Picks

Chaim – “Virus Hunters” by Greer Williams
Bridget – Wave Life Sciences and their potential treatment for Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1244: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello discusses Vijay Prasad’s return to the FDA, revoking of COVID vaccine authorization for young children, the Legionnaires’ outbreak in Harlem, the new labeling requirements for Ixchiq, the infectious attenuated Chikungunya vaccine and the importation of H5 influenza virus in Antarctica, before Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, guidelines for treating COVID-19, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, where to find PEMGARDA, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, the association of “virus rebound” and post-acute sequelae among hospitalized patients, how virus infection particularly influenza and SARS-CoV-2 may ‘re-activate’ dormant cancer cells and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1244 (26 MB .mp3, 43min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1243: Capitalism, COVID, and cancer

TWiV discusses the latest worrisome Executive Order on oversight of federal grantmaking, RFK Jr winds down mRNA viral vaccine development, Lenacapavir, a drug for AIDS prevention and treatment, and how respiratory virus infections awaken dormant metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1243 (68 MB .mp3, 117 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Weekly Picks 1:42:40

Brianne – Xkcd: Geologic Periods
Rich – Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Alan – The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
Vincent – Cacio e pepe: Good Food pasta recipe sparks fury in Italy

Listener Pick

Linda – DNA captured in air could identify life forms

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1242: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello re-address the dangers of drinking raw milk, the Legionnaire’s outbreak in Harlem and results of a vaccine knowledge survey done by emergency departments before Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, reports of influenza-associated acute necrotizing encephalopathy or neuropsychiatric events in children, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, the effectiveness of Pfizer and MODERNA vaccines against the JN.1 variant, risk of children developing severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection, where to find PEMGARDA, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, the association of “virus rebound” and post-acute sequelae among hospitalized patients, effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against long COVID, predictors for distinct COVID-19 sequelae including immune disturbances and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1242 (29 MB .mp3, 47 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1241: The most beautiful experiment

TWiV reports on the administration putting a choke hold on billions of NIH health research funding, US Senators tell scientists they want to protect the NIH budget, then review a classic experiment showing the mechanism of DNA replication, and explain how jumbo phage DNA is transcribed in a membrane-bound compartment before transfer into proteinaceous “nucleus” compartment.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, Brianne Barker, Jolene Ramsey, and Angela Mingarelli

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1241 (70 MB .mp3, 117 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Weekly Picks 1:29:57

Angela – Benefits of interacting with Nature
Brianne – “Why Trust Science” Essay
Kathy – Dental floss delivery of vaccines to mice
Rich – The Monk in the Garden
Jolene – JWST COSMOS-Web Interactive Map viewer
Vincent – New Injectable Recommended by Europe for HIV Prevention

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1240: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello chat about the recent Salmonella typhimurim outbreak, the ousting of another CBER director, confirmation of a new CDC director and results of a recent pool about vaccine safety and trust before Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, a new anti-influenza antibody that can be combined with neuraminidase inhibitors, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, the effectiveness of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, where to find PEMGARDA, safety of the JN.1 updated vaccine, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, the prevalence of cardiac and pulmonary abnormalities found via medical imaging following COVID-19 and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1240 (29 MB .mp3, 48 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1239: Aluminum and antibodies

TWiV explains a cohort study of over one million Danish children which shows no evidence supporting an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders associated with early childhood exposure to vaccines with aluminum-base adjuvants, and a study of antibodies induced by mRNA-1273 and NVX-CoV2373 COVID-19 vaccines which show that polyclonal antibodies against a single site on the
spike N-terminal domain show immunodominance, high diversity, and limited crossreactivity, indicating the need to direct antibody responses away from this site.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1239 (67 MB .mp3, 111 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Weekly Picks 1:42:56

Brianne – MHC Class I Antigen Presentation Video
Alan – We Become What We Behold
Vincent – New Injectable Recommended by Europe for HIV Prevention

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1238: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello chat about how flies and milk-snatching might contribute to influenza virus H5N1 among dairy cattle, the recent pertussis oubreak and measles epidemic before Dr. Griffin discusses monoclonal antibody therapy can enrich for RSV variants before deep diving into recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, the effectiveness of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, where to find PEMGARDA, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, how mast cell activation can enhance long COVID and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1238 (27 MB .mp3, 45 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1237: Hepatitis C and persistence with Charlie Rice

From the 2025 annual meeting of the American Society for Virology, Charlie Rice, 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, talks with Vincent and Kathy about his career and the scientific difficulties he and his laboratory encountered in their attempts to achieve replication of hepatitis C virus in cells in culture.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Kathy Spindler

Guest: Charlie Rice

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1237 (40 MB .mp3, 66 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1236: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello have a morning chat about the measles epidemic and H5N1 in cows before Dr. Griffin discusses how vaccination associates with reduced dementia risk before deep diving into recent statistics on measles epidemic, RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, a potential new influenza antiviral drug, whether or not the NB.1.8.1 variant should be included in the fall 2025 vaccines, immunization recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines, where to find PEMGARDA, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, associaton of remesdivir administration and long-term sequelae and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 1236 (30 MB .mp3, 49 min)
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

Become a patron of TWiV!

  • Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
  • Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola) 2:28
  • Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada) 6:11
  • Measles (WHO)
  • Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
  • Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
  • Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
  • Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
  • Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
  • Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
  • Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
  • Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
  • Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
  • Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
  • The impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus infection on dairy cows (Nature) 9:17
  • Avian flu exacts heavy financial toll on dairy industry, report says (CIDRAP) 9:17
  • Inherited IFNAR1 deficiency in otherwise healthy patients with adverse reaction to measles and yellow fever live vaccines (Journal of Experimental Medicine)
  • Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
  • US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
  • Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
  • Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)
  • FDA-CDC-DOD: 2025-2046 influenza vaccine composition (FDA)
  • RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
  • US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
  • ENFLONSIA: novel drug approvals 2025 (FDA)
  • RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
  • Systematic review and expert consensus on the use of long-acting monoclonal antibodies for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus disease: ARMADA (Advancing RSV Management And Disease Awareness) Taskforce (OFID) 15:18
  • Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) 17:40
  • COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
  • COVID cases likely rising in half of states, CDC estimates (CBS News)
  • Estimated COVID-19 Periodicity and Correlation with SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein S1 Antigenic Diversity, United States (Emerging Infectious Diseases)
  • Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
  • COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) 17:20
  • COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
  • Estimated COVID-19 Periodicity and Correlation with SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein S1 Antigenic Diversity, United States (Emerging Infectious Diseases) 19:32
  • SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
  • Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 (bi0rXiv)
  • This CDC Resignation Should Scare You (Substack: Beyond the Noise)
  • ACIP: COVID-19–Associated Hospitalizations — COVID-NET, April 2025 Update (CDC: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases))
  • Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
  • EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
  • Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
  • CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
  • NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
  • Drug treatments for mild or moderate covid-19: systematic review and network meta-analysis (BMJ) 23:25
  • Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
  • Paxlovid (Pfizer)
  • Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
  • Extended nirmatrelvir–ritonavir treatment durations for immunocompromised patients with COVID-19 (EPIC-IC) (LANCET: Infectious Diseases) 26:25
  • Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
  • Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
  • What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
  • Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
  • Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
  • Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
  • Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
  • Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
  • The answers: Long COVID
  • Invivyd and Leading Researchers Form SPEAR (Spike Protein Elimination and Recovery) Study Group to Assess the Effects of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for Long COVID and COVID-19 Post-Vaccination Syndrome (INVIVYD) 31:39
  • Reaching out to US house representative
  • Letters read on TWiV 1236 35:35
  • Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
  • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Hosts of TWiV

Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.


Brianne Barker, Ph.D.


Rich Condit, Ph.D.


Alan Dove, Ph.D.


Daniel Griffin, M.D.,
Ph.D., CTropMed CTH


Angela Mingarelli, DVM


Jolene Ramsey, Ph.D.


Kathy Spindler, Ph.D.


CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Archived Posts

Make a Donation

Your donations help make our podcasts happen. Support our work at Patreon, PayPal, and more. MicrobeTV, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donate Now

Questions/Comments

Do you have any thoughts on or questions about our podcast episodes? Send them to us at [email protected]!

Please note that content in MicrobeTV podcasts should not be construed as medical advice.