This Week in Virology

TWiV 904: 50 years of reverse transcriptase

May 29, 2022

Vincent travels to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to speak with David Baltimore, John Coffin, and Harold Varmus about the discovery in 1970 of retroviral reverse transcriptase and its impact on life sciences research.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: David Baltimore, John Coffin, and Harold Varmus

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Fifty Years of Reverse Transcriptase (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 00:29
50th Anniversary of RT discovery (Mol Biol Cell)
RT in virions of Rous sarcoma virus – Temin (Nature) 14:00
RNA-dependent DNA polymerase in tumor virus particles – Baltimore (Nature) 12:36

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 903: COVID-19 clinical update #116 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 28, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #115, Dr. Griffin discusses croup association with infection surge, rhinovirus co-circulation in children, shedding following vaccination, high vaccine efficacy in children 6 mo-5 yr, vaccine protection for hospitalized patients, convalescent plasma as post-exposure prophylaxis, real-world effectiveness of PAXLOVID, effectiveness of PAXLOVID in reducing hospitalization, infection rebound after PAXLOVID, relapse of symptomatic infection after PAXLOVID, remdesivir and bebtelovimab fact sheets for providers, guidelines on usage of anticoagulation drugs, long covid symptoms after vaccination, excess mortality in MA, infection sequelae and immunity, and post infection conditions among adults.

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Download TWiV 903 (29 MB .mp3, 48 min)
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Croup association with infection surge (PIDS) 9:18
Rhinovirus co-circulation in children (Jornal de Pediatria) 10:02
Infection shedding following vaccination (MedRxiV) 1203
High vaccine efficacy in children 6 months to 5 years (Pfizer) 17:19
Protection of vaccine against hospitalized patients (IDSA) 18:36
Convalescent plasma as post-exposure prophylaxis (IDSA) 21:50
Real-world effectiveness of PAXLOVID in Hong-Kong (MedRxiV) 23:35
Effectiveness of PAXLOVID in reducing hospitalization (The Lancet) 26:02
Infection rebound after PAXLOVID (CDC) 26:50
Relapse of symptomatic infection after PAXLOVID (Research Square) 29:35
Remdesivir fact sheet for providers (Veklury)
Bebtelovimab fact sheet for providers (FDA)
Guidelines on usage of anticoagulation drugs (ASH)
Long covid symptoms after vaccination (BMJ) 39:29
Excess morality in Massachusetts (JAMA) 7:48
Infection sequelae and immunity (Annals of Internal Medicine) 36:41
Post infection conditions among adults (CDC) 37:37
Contribute to FIMRC fundraiser at PWB 40:08
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 903 40:46
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV Special: Monkeypox clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 26, 2022

In this special episode, Dr. Griffin answers questions about the recent cases of monkeypox including their origin, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and overall risk.

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Monkeypox multi-country outbreak risk assessment (pdf, ECDC) 1:08
Monkeypox update (ProMedMail) 1:11
Monkeypox virus genome sequences (Nextstrain) 15:28

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 902: Autoantibodies drive severe COVID-19

May 22, 2022

TWiV reviews recent cases of monkeypox, presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA but not infectious virus in feces, and the association of autoantibodies to interferons with severe COVID-19.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Download TWiV 902 (76 MB .mp3, 127 min)
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Monkeypox in MA (ProMed Mail) 6:43
Possible monkeypox in NYC (NY Times)
Occupational monkeypox, Wisconsin (Emerg Inf Dis) 13:45
SARS-CoV-2 in feces (Nature) 18:35
IFN autoantibodies and severe COVID-19 (PNAS) 30:11
Letters read on TWiV 902 1:08:44
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:48:18

Dickson – How to grow food on the moon
Brianne – APod May 16: Milky Way over French Alp Hoodoos
Kathy – Covid Nationwide data visualization
Rich – NIH All of Us Research Program
Vincent – Physicians Spreading Misinformation on Social Media — Do Right and Wrong Answers Still Exist in Medicine?

Listener Pick

Lisa – E.H. Danner Museum of Telephony

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 901: COVID-19 clinical update #115 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 21, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #115, Dr. Griffin reviews cross-variant immunity without vaccination, EUA for boosters in 5-11 year olds, B.1.1.529 attack rate, scent dogs, Omicron and pets, Paxlovid, Veklury, Fluvoxamine, antigen positivity after isolation, inflammasome activation and severe disease, and GI persistence and fecal shedding.

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Links for this episode

Limited cross-variant immunity without vaccination (Nature) 7:01
EUA for boosters in 5-11 year olds (FDA) 8:02
Stages of COVID-19 (AIDS Rev) 8:40
B.1.1.529 attack rate in Australia (JID) 11:13
Scent dogs (BMJ) 16:11
Does Omicron affect pets? (CVMBS News) 18:59
Paxlovid eligibility checklist (FDA) 23:02
Supratherapeutic tacrolimus with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Op For Inf Dis) 24:33
Is longer Paxlovid needed? (Reuters) 26:01
How about Veklury? (Gilead) 28:02
Fluvoxamine declined (FDA) 31:14
Antigen positivity after isolation (MMWR) 36:26
Inflammasome activation drives COVID-19 pathology (TWiV 900, Nature) 50:40
PASC and viral antigen persistence in gut (Gastroenterol) 53:11
GI symptoms and fecal shedding (Med) 51:42
Contribute to ASTMH fundraiser at PW 56:48
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 901 57:21
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 900: Burning down the mouse

May 15, 2022

TWiV celebrates 900 episodes, Vincent gives the Richard R. Ernst lecture, and we discuss why inflammasome activation in infected macrophages drives severe COVID-19.

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

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Links for this episode

Richard R. Ernst Lecture 8:07
Infected macrophages drives severe COVID-19 (Nature) 17:50
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:17:45

Brianne – The Milky Way’s Black Hole Comes to Light
Kathy – River dolphins playing with anaconda
Rich – Smallpox vaccination techniques; from knives and forks to needles and pins
Alan – Vacuum Tubes: a Modern Aladdin’s Lamp
Vincent – Books by Pamela Jane

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 899: COVID-19 clinical update #114 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 14, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #114, Dr. Griffin discusses early treatment with ivermectin, procalcitonin not a reliable biomarker, vaccine in 6-11 year olds, FDA limits use of Janssen vaccine, does site of vaccine booster matter, sniffer dogs, monoclonals for hospitalized patients, risk assessment for public events, Paxlovid eligibility, and persistence of pediatric anosmia.

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Download TWiV 899 (34 MB .mp3, 56 min)
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Links for this episode

Effects of early treatment with Ivermectin (NEJM) 36:01
Procalcitonin not a reliable biomarker (IDSA) 43:08
Evaluation of vaccine in children 6 to 11 years (NEJM) 2:40
FDA limits use of Janssen vaccine (FDA) 24:48
Recall of B cell memory on vaccination location (Science Immunology) 26:22
Persistence screening using sniffer dogs (Journal of Clinical Trials) 13:24
Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab for treatment of hospitalized patients (Lancet) 28:13
Infection detection by canine olfaction (OFID) 10:40
Diagnostic utility to differentiate patients (IDSA) 43:55
Prevalence of anosmia in pediatric cases (Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal) 7:22
Risk assessment for public events (University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium) 17:03
PAXLOVID patient eligibility screening checklist (FDA) 33:01
PAXLOVID drug interactions (IDSA) 34:36
Contribute to ASTMH fundraiser at PWB 48:05
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 899 48:41
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 898: Immunity is skin deep

May 8, 2022

TWiV explains why the concept of herd immunity might not apply to COVID-19, and the observation that smallpox vaccination causes an increase in skin bacteria that promote pathology and influence the immune response.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Download TWiV 898 (65 MB .mp3, 108 min)
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Links for this episode

Herd immunity may not apply to COVID-19 (J Inf Dis) 2:58
Smallpox vaccination increases skin bacteria (PLoS Path) 27:29
The invinceable TWiV (TWiV 145) 36:29
By the pricking of my thumbs… (TWiV 284) 36:43
Letters read on TWiV 898 1:10:06
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:27:50

Brianne – Bacteria and Me Coloring Book
Kathy – Smarter 3D printing
Rich – Big Ben Restoring the Worlds Most Famous Clock 2021
Vincent – Scientific review articles as antivaccine disinformation

Listener Pick

Suellen – Your Fantastic Mind Season 3 Ep 2: Long COVID and Making of a Brain Surgeon (Full Episode)

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 897: COVID-19 clinical update #113 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 7, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #113, Dr. Griffin discusses tocilizumab use in hospitalized Patients, IL-6 inhibitors and mortality, Baricitinib in hospitalized patients, post-infection neurological sequelae, comparative effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, phase 2/3 study of Paxlovid, infection relapse following Paxlovid, pre-hospital administration of Remdesivir, and hospitalization with different variants.

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Download TWiV 897 (29 MB .mp3, 48 min)
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Links for this episode

Timing of Tocilizumab Use in Hospitalized Patients (NIH) 34:28
Interleukin-6 inhibitors reduce mortality (European Journal of Internal Medicine) 35:58
Treatment Effect of Baricitinib on Hospitalized Patients (IDSA) 36:57
Post Infection Neurological Sequelae (Res Square) 38:09
Comparative Effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines (Nature Commun) 7:58
Results from Phase 2/3 Study of Paxlovid (Pfizer) 13:45
Infection Relapse Following Suppression by Paxlovid (Res Square) 19:55
Update on Paxlovid Usage (FDA) 25:02
Availability and Use of Treatments in Outpatients (CDC) 25:47
Pre-Hospital Administration of Remdesivir (IDSA) 26:56
Remdesivir and three other drugs for Hospitalized Patients (Lancet) 32:45
Guidelines on Usage of Anticoagulants (Am Soc Hematol) 30:22
Different Variants Hospitalization and Morality (Res Square) 3:30
Contribute to FIMRIC fundraiser at PWB 40:26
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 897 41:25
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 896: Memory B cells, the way we were

May 1, 2022

TWiV explains a study of how climate change is predicted to increase cross-species viral transmission risk, and increased memory B cell potency and breadth after a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine boost.