This Week in Virology

TWiV 91: You’re an ERVous wreck

July 18, 2010

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

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, Rich and Welkin discuss the nature, origin, and evolution of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), and the recent finding of endogenous filovirus genomes in mammals.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #91 (64 MB .mp3, 89 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Welkin blogs at Small Things Considered
Constructing primate phylogenies from ancient retrovirus sequences (PNAS)
Filoviruses are ancient and integrated into mammalian genomes (BMC Evol Biol)
Synthetic cells: Momentous breakthrough or ethical morass? (To The Point)
Creation of a bacterial cell (Science)
Comments on the synthetic cell (Small Things Considered)
TWiV rap: T-Number Index by G-Unit (mp3) and Vincent (mp3) (thanks, Darrick and Scott!)
Letters read on TWiV 91

Weekly Science Picks

Welkin – Advice for a Young Investigator by Santiago Ramon y Cajal
Rich – How microbes define and defend us
Dickson – H1N1 virus lacks 1918 virus killer protein
Alan – The Xtal Set Society
Vincent – Antibodies and the quest for an AIDS vaccine

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 90: Guano happens

July 11, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Eric F. Donaldson

Vincent, Alan, Rich and Eric discuss identification of viruses in Northeastern American bats, vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with a military vaccinee, and identification of a new flavivirus from an Old World bat in Bangladesh.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #90 (64 MB .mp3, 89 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with vaccinee
Smallpox vaccination overview
Smallpox vaccine lesions (jpg)
Smallpox hospital, Roosevelt Island, NY (photo 1, photo 2)
Isolation of a flavivirus from bats in Bangladesh (PLoS Pathogens)
Review on hepatitis G virus
Dickson has been teaching at Singularity University and fishing in Bozeman MT (jpg)
Letters read on TWiV 90

Weekly Science Picks

Eric – Year of Darwin by Sean Carroll
Rich – March of the Penguins
Alan – Standing-height desks
Vincent – DengueWatch (thanks Richard!)

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 89: Where do viruses vacation?

July 4, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Alan Dove

Vincent and Alan review recent findings on the association of the retrovirus XMRV with ME/CFS, reassortment of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in swine, and where influenza viruses travel in the off-season.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #89 (56 MB .mp3, 78 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Conflicting XMRV papers on hold
Leak of PNAS paper
CDC study on XMRV in CFS patients (Retrovirology) and Science update
Where influenza viruses travel in the off season (EurekaAlert! and PLoS Pathogens)
NPR article on Ebola siRNA treatment (thanks, Andreas!)
Priming mechanism for reovirus entry (thanks, Agyeman-Badu!)
Wired article on science PR (thanks, Dan!)
Letters read on TWiV 89

Weekly Science Picks

Alan – Tree of Life graphic
Vincent – TEDx Oil Spill

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 88: A bug fix, an AIDS treatment, and an undead retrovirus

June 27, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier

Vincent, Alan, and Marc discuss using a virus for beetle control, RNA based gene therapy for AIDS, and reconstitution of a endogenous human retrovirus.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #88 (68 MB .mp3, 91 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Controlling the palm rhinoceros beetle with a virus
The virologist in the Hawaiian shirt
Information on Orcytes rhinocerus nudivirus (one, two, three)
RNA based gene therapy for AIDS
Reconstitution of an infectious human retrovirus (PLoS Pathogens)
Letters read on TWiV 88

Weekly Science Picks

Marc – Apple iPad as a tool for writing, with Papers, Pages, and GoodReader
Alan – The Bacterium and the Bacteriophage
Vincent – Naturally Obsessed (thanks, Sharon!)

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 87: A PHIREside chat with Professor Graham Hatfull

June 20, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Graham Hatfull

Vincent, Alan, and Rich hear from Professor Graham Hatfull how students in the Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) program learn about scientific inquiry by doing research on bacteriophages.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #87 (62 MB .mp3, 86 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Bacteriophage Research: Gateway to learning science
Mycobacterium smegmatis at NCBI
Prof. Steve Cresawn
Scientist infected with computer virus (thanks, Jason!)
The Invisible ABCs
Letters read on TWiV 87

Weekly Science Picks

Rich – CDC Public Health Image Library
Alan – Great Microbiologists – A Lego Movie
Vincent – March of the Microbes by John L. Ingraham
Graham – Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas by Forest Rohwer

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 86: Dark matter with Dr. Eric Delwart

June 13, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Eric Delwart

Vincent and Rich travel to the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco to speak with Eric Delwart about his work on virus discovery.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #86 (59 MB .mp3, 81 minutes)

Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email

Links for this episode:

List of Dr. Delwart’s open-access journal articles (pdf) – to find each one, type PMID # into PubMed
CDC says don’t give rotavirus vaccines to infants with SCID
The Brighton Collaboration
Product sheet for RotaTeq (pdf – thanks, Sheldon!)
Letters read on TWiV 86

Weekly Science Picks

Rich – Google Crisis Response – Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Vincent – HHMI resources for teachers and students (thanks, Jim!)
Eric – Vaccine by Arthur Allen

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 85: Hepatitis C virus with Professor Michael Gale

June 6, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Michael Gale

Vincent and Michael Gale discuss the origin, pathogenesis, prevention, of hepatitis C virus, and how it evades innate immune responses.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #85 (40 MB .mp3, 56 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

The Gale Laboratory at the University of Washington
Incredible view from the Gale laboratory (jpg)
Evasion and disruption of innate immune signalling by hepatitis C and West Nile viruses (review)
New potent HCV inhibitor
HCV virion and genome structures at ViralZone
Episode transcript (pdf)

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 84: Gators go viral

May 30, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Dave Bloom, and Grant McFadden

Vincent and Rich spoke with Dave Bloom and Grant McFadden about their work on herpesviruses and poxviruses in this episode recorded before an audience at the University of Florida, Gainesville – home of the Gators.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #84 (71 MB .mp3, 99 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Epigenetic modulation of herpes simplex virus gene expression (thanks, Matthew!)
The Red Queen and Tierra virtual environment: article one, two, three (thanks, Jesper!)
Hand-held HIV detector (thanks, Jim!)
Anti-angiogenic cancer therapy combined with oncolytic virotherapy (thanks, Bill!)
TWiV at UF Gainesville (jpg)
Letters read on TWiV 84

Weekly Science Picks

Rich – Charles F. Littlewood photographs
Vincent – Not so humble pie (thanks, Sophie!)
Grant – The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo
David – Is Parkinson’s Disease a prion disorder?

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 83: An hour with Dr. Kiki

May 23, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kirsten Sanford

Vincent, Alan, Rich, and special guest Dr. Kirsten Sanford talk about her career in science media, then consider whether smallpox eradication led to the AIDS pandemic, high fidelity RNA synthesis, and a new Ebola virus vaccine.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #83 (66 MB .mp3, 91 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Does smallpox vaccine protect against HIV? (thanks, Srinivas; Washington Post and BMC Immunology)
Was the deltaCRR5 mutation fixed in the human population by smallpox?
A proofreader in the SARS coronavirus genome
New ebola vaccine protects monkeys
House of Numbers trailer, website, Wikipedia article (thanks, Levi!)
Letters read on TWiV 83

Weekly Science Picks

Alan – Evernote
Rich – The Knife Man by Wendy Moore
Vincent – The Pump Handle

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].

TWiV 82: Immunology in silico

May 16, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Vincent and Rich talk about how thymic selection of T cells might lead to better control of HIV-1 infection, and a mouse model for severe antibody-induced dengue virus disease.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc.

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

Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email

Links for this episode:

Effect of thymic selection of T-cells on control of AIDS
Mouse model of antibody-induced severe dengue virus disease
Natural antibody protects against viral infection
Kary Mullis idea for fighting infections (thanks, Erik!)
40 nm resolution of fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (thanks, José)
Letters read on TWiV 82

Weekly Science Picks

Rich The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax
Vincent Proteopedia (thanks, Erik!)

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected].