This Week in Virology

TWiV 76: XMRV with Professor Stephen Goff

April 4, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Stephen Goff

Vincent speaks with Stephen Goff about the origin of the retrovirus XMRV and its association with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #76 (40 MB .mp3, 55 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Discovery of XMRV in prostate tumors
Association of XMRV with chronic fatigue syndrome
Enhanced infection of prostate cells by XMRV
XMRV and xenotransplantation

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 75: Rabies rampant

March 28, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Matthew Frieman

Vincent, Alan, and Matt review contamination of Rotarix with circovirus DNA, antigenic similarity between 1918 and 2009 H1N1 influenza, a collection of rabies reports, and chicken pox mistaken for smallpox in Uganda.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #75 (57 MB .mp3, 79 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Contamination of Rotarix vaccine with porcine circovirus 1 DNA
Beak and feather disease circovirus (BFDV) threatens parrots
Antigenic similarity between 1918 and 2009 H1N1 influenza
Presumptive abortive human rabies in Texas
Rabies rampant: feline, immunization change, Indonesia, wolf, Texas bat, US equine (thanks, Lenn!)
Austin free tailed bats emerging at dusk
Suspected smallpox in Uganda
T-cell receptor therapy for AIDS (thanks Dorian!)

Weekly Science Picks

Matt Bitesize Bio
Alan Free printable graph paper (see also doane paper)
Vincent Avian Flu Diary

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 74: Influenza with Professor Adolfo Garcia-Sastre

March 21, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Adolfo Garcia-Sastre

Vincent speaks with Adolfo Garcia-Sastre about the origin, pathogenesis, and prevention of the 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #74 (34 MB .mp3, 47 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Influenza virus receptor specificity and disease
PB1-F2 expression by 2009 H1N1 strain does not increase virulence
Protection against 2009 H1N1 infection by immunization with older strains
Passage in eggs changes influenza receptor specificity
Association between D222G mutation and virulence

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 73: Entering the ends

March 14, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Dickson, and Rich discuss multipotent progenitor bone marrow cells as a reservoir of HIV-1, integration of HHV-6 into telomeres, and dispersal of West Nile virus across the US by mosquitoes.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #73 (63 MB .mp3, 87 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

HIV-1 infects multipotent progenitor cells
HHV-6 genome integrates into telomeres
A role for mosquito-mediated dispersal of West Nile virus across the US
Using tobacco mosaic virus to produce synthetic photovoltaic cells (thanks Nissin!)
Animation of HIV replication cycle (thanks Ilya!)
Can computer viruses evolve? (thanks Norman!)
Mumps outbreak in Israel (one and two) (thanks Ariel!)
Bocavirus infections in children (thanks Tyler!)

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson Whole-Genome Sequencing in a Patient with Charcot–Marie–Tooth Neuropathy (NEJM and NY Times)
Rich Invisible Frontiers: The Race to Synthesize a Human Gene by Stephen Hall
Vincent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections – videocasts

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 72: Bucket of bolts

March 7, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

This week the TWiV team explains CRISPR/Cas, the immune system of bacteria and archaea, how novel viruses are discovered by deep sequencing of small RNAs, and the relationship between dry weather and outbreaks of West Nile virus infection.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #72 (62 MB .mp3, 85 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Review on the CRISPR/cas system of bacteria and archaea
Virus discovery by sequencing small virus-derived RNAs (paper one and two)
Dry weather induces outbreaks of West Nile virus infection (paper and comment form)
Vaccine needle size matters
Participate in the Personal Genome Project

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson Scientist as Chef by Dickson Despommier (pdf)
Alan Networked Organisms and Habitats (NOAH) iPhone app
Rich Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
Vincent The Dish

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 71: Please Mr. Postman

February 28, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about maternal infection and fetal injury, viral gene therapy, eyeglasses and influenza, filtering prions from blood, eradication of rinderpest, Tamiflu resistance of H1N1 influenza, bacteriophages and the human microbiome, H1N1 vaccine recalls, human tumor viruses, RNA interference, and junk DNA.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #71 (63 MB .mp3, 88 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Maternal infection and fetal neurological injury
Filtering prions from blood (prion capture technology)
Eradication of rinderpest (Merck veterinary manual)
Podcasts from Life in the Universe course
Immune Attack video game
H1N1 review article and Holmes on genetic hijacking
Podcast on Merck vaccines
Ft. Lee NJ snowed in (jpg)

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson and Alan NSF/AAAS Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge
Rich Foundation by Issac Asimov
Vincent Natural Obsessions by Natalie Angier

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 70: Hacking aphid behavior

February 21, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Alan Dove

Vincent, Dickson, and Alan consider a broad spectrum antiviral against enveloped viruses, how a plant virus induces chemical signals in the host to maximize its spread, a new way to preserve viral vaccines at tropical temperatures, and the continuing story of XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #70 (56 MB .mp3, 77 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Broad spectrum antiviral against enveloped viruses
Chemical signals induced by a plant virus attract insect vectors to inferior hosts
New vaccine technology to make viral vaccines stable at tropical temperatures
Second UK study fails to find XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome patients (pdf)
Nature podcast with Simon Singh and petition (thanks André!)
Letter on Wolbachia and bees (thanks Tom!)
Dickson fishing in Argentina (jpg)

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson Chemical Ecology – edited by Thomas Eisner and Jerrold Meinwald
Alan Scripps Center for Mass Spectrometry
Vincent Folding@home (thanks Jesper!)

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 69: They’re all safecrackers

February 7, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review recent outbreaks of mumps in the UK, US, and Israel, protection of mice against 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus by 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 vaccines, and a virus-like particle vaccine for chikungunya virus.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #69 (59 MB .mp3, 82 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Mumps outbreak in Israel (ProMedMail and Eurosurveillance; thanks Lenn!) and Iowa
Retraction of Wakefield vaccines- autism study
Immunization with 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 influenza viruses protects against 2009 H1N1 strain
Virus-like particle vaccine for chikungunya virus
Image: antigenic differences in HA structures of 1918, Cal/09 and Bris/59/07 viruses
Paul Ewald articles (thanks Atila!): one, two, and three, and a recent review of the hypothesis

Weekly Science Picks

Rich John Moran Florida Nature Photography
Alan Periodic Table of Videos
Vincent The Protein Databank Educational Resources

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 68: Ode to a plaque

February 1, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Alan, and Rich are enthralled by movies of vaccinia virus plaque formation, then consider how repulsion of superinfection virions leads to rapid virus spread, and a therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code VINCENT to receive $50 off a Drobo or $100 off a Drobo S.

Win a free Drobo S! Contest rules here.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #68 (58 MB .mp3, 80 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Rapid virus spread by repulsion of superinfection virions
Movie of vaccinia virus plaque formation (download .mov)
Movie of GFP-vaccinia virus plaque formation (download .mov)
More amazing vaccinia virus movies
Prostate cancer vaccine (Reuters article, original research)

Weekly Science Picks

Rich Foundations of Virology – PowerPoint by Frederick A. Murphy (bio/interview pdf)
Alan Spoonful of Medicine – Nature Medicine blog
Vincent The Feynman Lectures (thanks Ilya!)

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv.

TWiV 67: Wasting deer and the Hulk rabbit

January 24, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier

Vincent, Alan, and Marc talk about chronic wasting disease of deer caused by prions, blocking the semen-derived enhancer of HIV infection with surfen, and making green transgenic rabbits using a lentiviral vector.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.