TWiV 709: COVID cherry picking

In this episode, President Biden elevates his science advisor to his Cabinet, a review of the current flu season, the scientific goals of the WHO-convened Global Study of the Origins of SARS-CoV-2, and answers to listener questions.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

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Weekly Picks 1:21:09

Kathy – 15 YouTubers play Telestrations
Vincent – Vince Beiser

Listener Picks

Bob, David, Janet – Sea Shanty by A Cappella Science (YouTube, TikTok, Bandcamp)

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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TWiV 708: Alpaca llama full of nanobodies

The TWiVy team deconstructs CoronaVac, the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech, and production of multivalent camelid nanobodies that block infection with the virus and suppress selection of neturalization-resistant variants.

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

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Weekly Picks 1:43:43

Dickson – Photos of mob attacking Capitol
Brianne – Video of Neutrophil Phagocytosis
Alan – Fishing Through the Apocalypse
Rich – A Word on Statistics by Wislawa Szymborska
Vincent – Letters from an American

Listener Pick

Mike – Have the new jab

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 707: COVID-19 clinical update #45 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In COVID-19 clinical update #45, Daniel Griffin discusses J&J Ad26 vaccine results, reactogenicity after the second dose of mRNA vaccines, expansion of vaccine eligibility, and the finding that encephalitis after SARS-CoV-2 infection is a cytokine release syndrome.

Hosts: Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

TWiV 706: Do as Dr. Fauci says

TWiV answers listener questions about pandemic response, excess deaths in 25-44 year olds, vaccines, vaccines, and vaccines.

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

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Weekly Picks 1:20:24

Brianne – We Know Almost Nothing About Giant Viruses
Rich – The Coccolithophores Project
Kathy – v-safe and  Vaccine Handbook
Vincent – Gorillas at San Diego Zoo infected with SARS-CoV-2 (pdf)

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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TWiV 705: Rocky Mountain COVID with Emily Travanty

Emily Travanty from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment joins TWiV to discuss how her laboratory was the first in the US to detect the SARS-CoV-2 variant VOC 202012/01.

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

Guest: Emily Travanty

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Weekly Picks 1:38:52

Dickson – Randal Despommier on saxophone
Brianne – Giant Microbes SARS-CoV2
Alan – West of Loathing
Rich – Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines
Vincent – SARS-CoV-2 spillover events

Listener Pick

Daniel – His Vaccine Story Inspired His Father To Write A Disney Classic

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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TWiV 704: COVID-19 clinical update #44 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In this COVID-19 clinical update, Daniel Griffin summarizes current status of vaccination in the US, discusses a study on convalescent sera from Argentina, use of remdesivir in patients with kidney disease, and provides further considerations on the use of Ct values in patient management.

Hosts: Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

TWiV 703: Does dose matter?

On this episode, a discussion of why modifying the dose schedule of the mRNA vaccines in the US is not a good idea, evidence that lower Ct values on hospital admission is associated with higher mortality, and dose-dependent response to SARS-CoV-2 infection of ferrets.

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

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Weekly Picks 1:54:00

Brianne – Linsey Marr on masks
Kathy – Striped Martian Sand Dunes and
Rich – How Microwaving Grapes Makes Plasma
Vincent – Musings of an anonymous, pissed off virologist

Listener Pick

Laura – Auld Lang Syne follow-up

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 702: Year of the Pandemic

For this first episode of 2021, the complete TWiV team reviews compelling virology stories of 2020, and thanks the multitude of guests who have helped us to navigate the pandemic, and our many listeners who turn to us for scientific facts.

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

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  • Poems are at Twiverse 1:17:48
  • This little virus went to market (TWiV 581) 5:39, 14:46
  • Host genetics initiative TWiV 628 27:29
  • Inborn errors of immunity & serious COVID TWiV 671 28:04
  • Lisa Gralinski TWiV 674 29:20
  • Tragic gene flow from Neanderthals TWiV 676 30:05
  • Ivermectin and COVID-19 (TWiV 599) 32:40
  • DC and Galveston road trips: TWiV 625, 643, 646, 589, 580, 583, 587) 5:48, 36:28
  • Fauci and Hotez interviews (TWiV 641, 687) 43:09
  • Long-haul COVID, pro-thrombotic autoantibodies (TWiV 680, 683) 49:09
  • Minority health and disparities (TWiV 655) 58:49
  • Diversity in science (TWiV 672, 670) 59:29
  • SeXX matters (TWiV 624) 1:00:00
  • Kate Rubins (TWiV 682) 1:08:11
  • Laura Splan (TWiV 691) 1:11:58
  • Protective immune responses (TWiV 693, 685, 683) 1:13:50
  • Immune memory/cross-reactivity (TWiV 684, 681, 650, 631) 1:14:23
  • Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:20:04

Dickson – Best of 2020 by NASA and The Plague Year
Brianne – Where Year Two of the Pandemic Will Take Us
Alan – Japan’s distinct form of vaccine hesitancy
Kathy – Paul Offit updates on the vaccine rollout and Choral Scholars of University College Dublin (John Greene’s videoessay on the song)
Rich – Do You Love Me?
Vincent – Story on Katalin Kariko’s career

Listener Pick

Louise – Virus socks

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 701: COVID-19 clinical update #43 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In Daniel Griffin’s final clinical report for 2020, he summarizes what we have learned about the clinical management of COVID-19 patients in the past year.

Hosts: Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 700: ‘Twas COVID and the aerosols

TWiV reviews additional data on the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2, the distinct variant spreading in South Africa, association of afucosylated antiviral IgG with severe COVID-19, approval of AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK, and winners of the pandemic poem contest.

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

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Weekly Picks 1:57:24

Brianne – Ready Player Two
Kathy – Bert Hubert’s Reverse Engineering of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
Rich – Boston Dynamics running robots
Vincent – Fever by John Fuller

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

The Hosts of TWiV

Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.


Rich Condit, 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.


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