This Week in Virology

TWiV 51: ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX B/E

September 27, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, and Alan Dove

Vincent, Dick, and Alan (with a cameo appearance by Rich Condit) review the world’s largest Phase III study of a complex HIV vaccine candidate in Thailand, immunization of salmon against infectious salmon anemia virus, and an outbreak of blueberry shock virus in Michigan.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #51 (60 MB .mp3, 84 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

HIV vaccine shows promise for the first time – description of the program, FDA background document (pdf), NEJM review on why AIDS vaccine is difficult (pdf), and arguments for the trial
Chile immunizes salmon (USGS article on the virus, pdf)
Blueberry virus strikes Michigan research center (information on the disease and the virus)
Rotavirus seasonality (thanks Didier!)
Viruses and the tree of life at virology blog
Big brains have evolved twice (thanks Arsen!)

Weekly Science Picks
Alan Bat Rabies and Other Lyssavirus Infections
Dick Boosting Vaccines: The Power of Adjuvants (Scientific American; subscription required)
Vincent The Ig Nobel Prizes by Marc Abrahams

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

TWiV 50: XMRV

September 20, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Jason Rodriguez

Vincent and Jason review influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine trials and protection against the virus conferred by the 1976 swine flu vaccine, then move on to a virus called XMRV and its possible role in prostate cancer.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #50 (54 MB .mp3, 74 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

One dose of influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine without adjuvant is enough
Partially completed study on influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine with MF59 adjuvant
1976 swine flu vaccine induces cross-reactive antibodies against influenza 2009 H1N1 strain
Explanation of hemagglutination-inhibition and microneutralization assays
FDA approves influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine
XMRV is present in malignant prostatic epithelium and is associated with prostate cancer
Identification of a novel gammaretrovirus in prostate tumors
CDC page on Guillain-Barré syndrome

Weekly Science Picks
Jason Glass Microbiology
Vincent FluWeb Influenza Historical Resources Database

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

TWiV 49: Viral genomes

September 13, 2009

Hosts:Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier

Vincent and Dick continue Virology 101 with a discussion of the seven different types of viral genomes, and how to use the pathway to mRNA to understand viral replication.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #49 (45 MB .mp3, 62 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

TWiV 49 transcript (pdf)
Dick talks about hookworm on Radio Lab
Dick’s video page at BigThink
The seven types of viral genome
Animation of HIV replication (thanks axiomatically atypical!)
Changes in transcript abundance relating to colony collapse disorder in honey bee (thanks Judi!)

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Discovery Channel: Planet Green
Vincent Influenza videos at BigThink: one, two, three, four, five, six

Send your virology questions and comments [email protected].

TWiV 48: Outbreaks near you

September 6, 2009

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

Vincent, Dick, Alan and Rich revisit a vaccinia virus lab accident and viral vaccines produced in plants, then talk about an iPhone app to track infectious diseases, flying foxes, and an inhaled measles vaccine.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #48 (58 MB .mp3, 79 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Laboratory acquired vaccinia infection
Medicago (investor presentation, pdf) and Fraunhofer produce vaccines in plants
iPhone app Outbreaks near me
No culling of flying foxes in Australia
Inhaled powdered measles virus vaccine
Herpesvirus latency confers symbiotic protection from bacterial infection (thanks Juliet!)
Porcine circovirus vaccine
Swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré (thanks Tom!)
The Great Flu and blog post (thanks Swiss compass and Allison!)
Building semiconductors with DNA (thanks Duncan!)
Email on viral classification (thanks Rodney and Eliot!)

Weekly Science Picks

Rich Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Dick Eliot Porter at the Carter Museum and bookstore at Amazon
Alan Dr. Clarke’s H1N1 rap at the HHS sponsored YouTube contest
Vincent Coast to Coast Bio Podcast

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

TWiV 47: Vertical vaccine farm

August 30, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier

Vincent and Dick discuss influenza virus-like particle vaccines produced in insect and plant cells, rapid sharing of influenza research, and answer listener questions about cytomegalovirus, viral evolution and symbiosis and much more.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #47 (51 MB .mp3, 71 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

A Farm on Every Floor
Influenza virus-like particles in insect and plant cells
PLoS Currents: Influenza
Transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza virus to turkeys [Thanks Debbie!]
Baxter produces Vero cell H1N1 vaccine [Thanks Peter!]
Boundaries of Darwinism podcast [Thanks David!]
Phages in human intestine: papers one, two, three [Thanks Terry!]
Post-exposure varicella vaccine [Thanks Patricia!]
Open science movement here, here, here, and here [Thanks Jim!]
Graduate programs in virology [Thanks Greggory and Blake!]
Post-exposure Marburg and Ebola vaccines [Thanks John!]
Vaccinia infection in the laboratory [Thanks Russ!]
Animations of bacteriophage T4 life cycle [Thanks Jim!]

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent Bionumbers
Dick Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas by Sylvia A. Earle, Linda K. Glover

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

TWiV 46: Virus entry into cells

August 23, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier

Vincent and Dick continue virology 101 with a discussion of virus entry into cells, then answer reader email on colony collapse disorder and viruses that confer a benefit to their host.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #46 (35 MB .mp3, 50 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Illustrations of virus entry into cells
Nice reference for biological items (thanks Jim!)
Colony collapse disorder: PBS program, descriptive study, metagenomic study, genetic analysis (thanks Swiss compass!)
Potato virus Y and Alzheimer’s disease (thanks Jennifer!)
A virus in a fungus in a plant (thanks Jennifer!)

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent PLoS Pearls
Dick West Nile virus website at CDC

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

TWiV 45: Hendra and polio are back

August 16, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Jennifer Drahos

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Jennifer Drahos tackle the Hendra virus disease outbreak in Australia, AIDS-like disease in wild chimps, return of polio type 2 in Nigeria, the influenza pandemic wave, and rabies in three countries.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #45 (59 MB .mp3, 86 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Hendra virus killing horses in Australia
AIDS-like disease in wild chimps [NY Times ]
Polio type 2 returns in Nigeria
Influenza pandemic wave [Branswell]
Rabies in Ukraine, South Africa, and USA
Cell phones turned into fluorescent microscopes [Thanks, Jim!]
HIV-1 vaccine trial in South Africa [Thanks Duncan!]
Forum discussion on flu vaccine [Thanks James!]
The Brain Science Podcast [Thanks Jim!]
WHO note on H1N1 vaccine safety
CDC information on H1N1 vaccines
Hans Christian Orsted

Weekly Science Picks

Jennifer Art of Science 2009
Vincent Nobel Intent
Dick Diversity of Life by EO Wilson
Alan MediaWiki (install tips)

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

TWiV 44: No hysteria

August 9, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Jennifer Drahos

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Jennifer Drahos consider Marburg virus in Egyptian fruit bats, bacterial citrus pathogen found in shipping facility, canine parvovirus in Michigan, Relenza-resistant influenza virus, new HIV from gorillas, and public engagement on H1N1 immunization program.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #44 (54 MB .mp3, 78 minutes)

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Links for this episode:

Isolation of Marburg virus from Egyptian fruit bats
Inspectors find bacterial citrus pathogen in California
Parvovirus killing hundreds of dogs in Michigan
Relenza-resistant H1N1 identified in Australia (press and journal article)
New HIV from gorilla
CDC wants public comment on H1N1 vaccination
Original antigenic sin (article 1 and article 2)
Dr. Stanley Plotkin on Meet the Scientist (thanks Peter!)
audioBoo (iPhone app – thanks Jim!)
Audio clips (first and second) from the podcast No Agenda (thanks peripatetic apoplectic!)

Weekly Science Picks

Jennifer Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD Comics)
Vincent Giant Microbes (thanks Stephen!)
Dick Virology in the 21st Century
Alan Annals of the Former World by John McPhee

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

TWiV 43: Virus classification

August 2, 2009

Hosts:Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier

Vincent and Dick explain virus classification, and revisit the 1976 swine flu immunization campaign and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #43 (32 MB .mp3, 46 minutes)

Links for this episode:

Transcript of this episode
International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
CBS 60 Minutes on 1976 swine flu vaccine (thanks Gus and Swiss compass!)
Vaccines and Guillain-Barré
NINDS Guillain-Barré Information
Reflections on the 1976 swine flu vaccination program
Swine influenza outbreak at Fort Dix, 1976

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth by Lynn Margulis and Karlene V. Schwartz
Vincent A Genetic Switch by Mark Ptashne

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 42: Bats and ticks

July 24, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Delthia Ricks

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Delthia Ricks discuss a new influenza virus-like particle vaccine, dog flu, ultrasensitive pen-sized virus detector, imported rabies in the US, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and next season’s flu vaccines.