TWiV 12: Prions, lemur lentiviruses, RS virus vaccine, H5N1

Host: Vincent Racaniello (Wikipedia entry, and photo with Hilary Koprowski)

Guests: Alan Dove and Angela Rasmussen

Vincent, Alan, and Angela discuss Kuru, prions in milk, ancient lentiviruses found in the chromosomes of lemurs, a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine failure in the 1960s, and recent outbreaks of H5N1 influenza in chickens.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #12 (30.8 MB .mp3,  44 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

  • Episode transcript (pdf) – Thanks, Gertrude!
  • D. Carleton Gajdusek obituary in the NY Times. We forgot to mention that he won the 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on Kuru.
  • PLoS Pathogens article on prions in sheep milk.
  • PNAS article on endogenous lemur lentivirus
  • Nature Medicine article on the failed respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
  • December 18 was the 100th anniversary of the discovery of poliovirus.

Science podcast pick of the week: Skepticality.
Science book of the week: Science Fictions: A Scientific Mystery, a Massive Cover-up and the Dark Legacy of Robert Gallo by John Crewdson.

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

TWiV 11: Elite controllers, mosquitoes, and winter vomiting

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Alan Dove and Jeremy Luban

Vincent, Alan, and Jeremy discuss why certain AIDS patients, called ‘elite controllers’ or ‘long-term non-progressors’, do not develop disease, why mosquitoes infected with Sindbis virus remain healthy, and the continuing outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #11 (62.6 MB .mp3, 68 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

  • Immunity article on elite controllers.
  • PNAS article on protected mosquitoes.
  • The word quarantine comes from the seventeenth century Venetian quarantena, which means forty day period.

Science podcast pick of the week: The Mr. Science Show
Science book of the week: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis. Click here to see a page from my Mother’s marked-up copy. She was a high school English teacher.

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TWiV 10: Bats, elephants, and AIDS

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Guest: Alan Dove

Vincent, DIck, and Alan chat about reconstruction of a bat SARS-like coronavirus, herpesviruses that are killing elephants in zoos, and a plan to eradicate AIDS in ten years.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #10 (18.2 MB .mp3, 39 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Science podcast pick of the week: Futures in Biotech.
Science book of the week: Principles of Molecular Virology, by AJ Cann.

Send your virology questions to twiv@microbe.tv

TWiV 9: Fever! The discovery of Lassa virus

Fever!Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dick recall the discovery of Lassa virus in Africa in 1969. A non-fictional account of the story, ‘Fever’, written by John G. Fuller and published in 1974, inspired Vincent to become a virologist. Part of the story took place at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital (now Columbia University Medical Center), where both Vincent and Dick are employed. Dick remembers many of the key players in this medical drama.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #9 (19 MB .mp3, 41 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

  • Click here to view to cover of ‘Fever!’
  • Buy a used copy of ‘Fever!’ at Amazon.

Science podcast pick of the week: The Naked Scientists (iTunes link).

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TWiV 8: HIV resistance, Google flu, measles in Gibraltar, viral batteries

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dick converse about warfare preventing immunization of 120,000 children in Afghanistan, bone marrow transplant curing AIDS patient, Google tracking flu, measles outbreak in Gibraltar, using viruses to make batteries, and small mosquitoes and Dengue.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #8 (16.9 MB .mp3, 36 minutes)

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Link for this episode:

  • Article on using viruses to make batteries (PubMed: Virus-enabled synthesis and assembly of nanowires for lithium ion battery electrodes).

Science podcast pick of the week: NY Times Science Times (iTunes link).

Let us know what are your favorite science podcasts: twiv@microbe.tv

TWiV 7: Viruses in video games

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Guest: Aidan Racaniello

Vincent, Dick, and Aidan discuss how viral infections play prominent roles in notable video games. Three games are discussed: World of Warcraft, Pandemic II, and Bioshock.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #7 (23.1 MB .mp3)

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Links for this episode:

  • An article on how World of Warcraft became a model for the transmission of virus infections was published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. The title of the article is “The untapped potential of virtual game worlds to shed light on real world epidemics.”
  • After we did the netcast we learned of a game for the iPhone called ‘Virus’. In this game your body is infected with a virus, and you must clear the infection by controlling white blood cells. The game is at the iTunes App store.

Science podcast pick of the week: MicrobiologyBytes.

TWiV is now part of Sciencepodcasters.

Episode transcript (pdf)

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

TWiV 6: Latest outbreaks of polio, west Nile and eastern equine encephalitis, Hendra, and norovirus

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dickson discuss recent outbreaks of polio, west Nile and eastern equine encephalitis, Hendra, and norovirus.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #6 (19.8 MB .mp3)

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Links for this episode:

Science podcast pick of the week: Brain Science Podcast.

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

TWiV 5: Herpesviruses

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Special guest: Saul Silverstein

Vincent and Saul discuss infection, latency, and reactivation by members of the herpesvirus family of viruses.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #5 (22.9 MB .mp3)

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Links for this episode:

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

TWiV 4: Rabies

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dickson review the biology and pathogenesis of rabies virus.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #4 (16.7 MB .mp3)

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Links for this episode:

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

TWiV 3: Dengue

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Vincent and Dickson review the biology and pathogenesis of dengue virus.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #3 (19.6 MB .mp3 file)

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Links for this episode:

  • Article on the mortgage crisis and West Nile virus in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
  • Environment-oriented review of Dengue.
  • Dengue page at the World Health Organization.
  • Episode transcript (download pdf)

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

The Hosts of TWiV

Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.


Dickson D.
Despommier, Ph.D.


Alan Dove, Ph.D.


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


Angela Mingarelli, DVM


Jolene Ramsey, Ph.D.


CLICK FOR MORE INFO

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