Vincent visits the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany to speak with Matthias Fischer about his career and his research on giant viruses, virophages, and their protist hosts.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Matthias Fischer

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Download TWiV 1071 (51 MB .mp3, 70 min)
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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses monkeypox and chickenpox co-infection in southern Nigeria, vaccine effectiveness against influenza A, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titers in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and breast milk, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests with self-collected vs health care worker–collected nasal and throat swab specimens, four methods for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A virus activity in schools, efficacy and safety of Baricitinib for the treatment of hospitalized adults with COVID-19, a synbiotic preparation (SIM01) for post-acute COVID-19 syndrome in Hong Kong, consistent absence of cerebrospinal fluid biomarker abnormalities in patients with neurocognitive post-COVID complications, and risk of new-onset long COVID following reinfection with SARS-CoV-2.

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Download TWiV 1070 (29 MB .mp3, 40 min)

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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From the European Society for Clinical Virology meeting in Milan, Vincent speaks with Eeva Broberg about her career and her work at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Heli Harvala

Guest: Eeva Broberg

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Download TWiV 1069 (42 MB .mp3, 59 min)
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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses developmental impairment in children exposed during pregnancy to maternal SARS-COV2, vagus nerve dysfunction in the post-COVID-19 condition, and humoral immunity to an endemic coronavirus is associated with postacute sequelae of COVID-19 in individuals with rheumatic diseases, incidence and burden of long COVID in Africa.

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Download TWiV 1068 (12 MB .mp3, 16 min)

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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On this all-bacteriophage episode, TWiV explains the ‘vampire phage’, and and how mammalian cells internalize phage particles and utilize them to enhance cell growth and survival.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Jolene Ramsey

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Download TWiV 1067 (67 MB .mp3, 93 min)
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Weekly Picks 1:30:41

DicksonBiden skips climate summit (NY Times)
RichLilium electric VTOL jet
AlanThe Far Land, by Brandon Presser
JoleneBacteriophage T4 infection watercolor painting by David Goodsell
VincentUsing narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences

Listener Picks

DarachIt depends t-shirt

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses a microbiologist who was harassed during COVID pandemic sues university, use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine for poliovirus outbreak response, safety and immunogenicity of bivalent rsvpref vaccine coadministered with seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine in older adults, coffee as a dietary strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, enrollment of pediatric patients in COVID-19 interventional trials, vaccination, immunity, and the changing impact of COVID-19 on infant health, COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against post- COVID -19 condition among 589722 individuals in Sweden, repeated Omicron exposures override ancestral SARS-CoV-2 immune imprinting, protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccination, prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, or hybrid immunity against Omicron-associated severe outcomes among community-dwelling adults, the Novavax heterologous COVID booster demonstrates lower reactogenicity than mRNA vaccines, T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination are elevated in B cell deficiency and reduce risk of severe COVID-19, oral VV116 versus placebo in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in China, and how COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy decreases inflammatory cytokines, therapeutic heparin in non-ICU patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the ACTIV-4a trial.

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Download TWiV 1066 (32 MB .mp3, 44 min)

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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TWiV reviews ban on gain-of-function research by the House, chronic wasting disease in Tennessee deer, nOPV2 causing paralysis in children, and an outbreak of feline infectious peritonitis in Cyprus caused by a new recombinant coronavirus.

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

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Download TWiV 1065 (67 MB .mp3, 93 min)
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Weekly Picks 89:23

DicksonClimate Action and How to find joy in climate action
BrianneA Virus that Generates Electricity
KathyIntolerable Genius: Berkeley’s most controversial Nobel laureate
Rich – Programmed DNA Elimination (PDE): Quanta; Current Biology
AlanKBDfans mechanical keyboard kits
VincentThe Covid Vaccine Windfall Turns for Pfizer and Moderna

Listener Picks

MeikaIceland Eruption or not?

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses progress toward measles elimination, risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 despite vaccination in patients requiring treatment with immune-suppressive drugs, symptoms, viral loads, and rebound among COVID-19 outpatients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir compared to propensity score matched untreated individuals, late administration and corticosteroid usage explain inefficacy in COVID-19 convalescent plasma trial, higher-dose fluvoxamine and time to sustained recovery in outpatients with COVID-19, recombinant C1 inhibitor in the prevention of severe COVID-19, and Epstein-Barr virus reactivation is not causative for post-COVID-19-syndrome in individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 disease course.

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Download TWiV 1064 (38 MB .mp3, 53 min)

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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Kevin Messacar visits the Incubator to discuss his career as a pediatric infectious disease physician, and his work on enteroviruses that are associated with acute flaccid myelitis and other diseases.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Kevin Messacar

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Download TWiV 1063 (49 MB .mp3, 68 min)
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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses coverage with selected vaccines and exemption from school vaccine requirements among children in kindergarten, seasonality of endemic COVID-19, mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination before vs during pregnancy and omicron infection among infants, extracting symptoms from free-text responses using ChatGPT among COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir therapy, optimization of antiviral therapy in immunocompromised COVID-19 patients, a study to learn about the study medicines (nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir) in people aged 12 years or older with COVID-19 and a compromised immune system, evaluation of the safety profile and therapeutic efficacy of Remdesivir in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection, effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibody treatment on early trajectories of virologic and immunologic biomarkers in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir therapy.

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Download Download TWiV 1062 (34 MB .mp3, 47 min)

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  • Coverage with selected vaccines and exemption from school vaccine requirements among (CDC) 2:54
  • Seasonality of endemic COVID-19 (Virology) 9:36
  • mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination before vs during pregnancy and Omicron infection among infants (JAMA) 13:27
  • Extracting symptoms from responses using ChatGPT among COVID-19 cases (CMI) 16:29
  • SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir therapy (AIM) 17:52
  • Optimization of antiviral therapy in immunocompromised COVID-19 patients (ClinicalTrials)
  • A study to learn about nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in people with COVID-19 and a compromised immune system (ClinicalTrials)
  • Evaluation of the safety profile and therapeutic efficacy of remdesivir in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection (EJP) 35:38
  • Effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibody treatment on virologic and immunologic biomarkers in patients with COVID-19 (JID) 36:56
  • SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir–ritonavir therapy (AIM)
  • Contribute to our MicrobeTV fundraiser at PWB 37:55
  • Letters read on TWiV on TWiV 1062 38:16
  • Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
  • Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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