This Week in Virology

TWiV 683: Two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines

November 19, 2020

On this episode of TWiV, mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer show over 90% efficacy, prothrombotic auto-antibodies in serum of COVID-19 patients, and the whereabouts of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body.

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

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Efficacy of Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines 3:07
Longer shelf life of Moderna vaccine (Moderna) 19:57
Prothrombotic antibodies in COVID-19 serum (Sci Trans Med) 37:33
Where is SARS-CoV-2 in the human body? (PLoS Path) 1:04:38
Letters read on TWiV 683 1:26:35
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:43:25

Brianne – Picture a Scientist
Kathy – Colors of the Moon and Word that hasn’t changed
Rich – NASA YouTube channel
Vincent – Laura Splan science art

Listener Pick

Mona – Ad5 vector and podcast with ImmunityBio founder

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 682: Kate Rubins from the International Space Station

November 17, 2020

From Expedition 64 of International Space Station, Flight Engineer Kate Rubins joins TWiV to discuss experiments that she is working on, including cell cultures, genome sequencing, and plant growth.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Guest: Kate Rubins

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Download TWiV 682 (17 MB .mp3, 29 min)
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Kate Rubins previously on TWiV 444
Kate Rubins keynote at ASM Microbe (YouTube)
Kate Rubins launch to ISS (NASA YouTube)

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 681: Crowley, coats, and cross-reactive antibodies

November 15, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, Kathleen Crowley explains the role of Environmental Health & Safety departments, update on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in farmed mink, and the presence of pre-existing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in unexposed individuals.

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

Guests: Daniel Griffin and Kathleen A. Crowley

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Download TWiV 681 (107 MB .mp3, 179 min)
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Pfizer vaccine efficacy (Pfizer) 1:45:38
Pfizer vaccine (Stat) 1:49:13
Distribution of Pfizer vaccine (NY Times)
LSTMH vaccine tracker 1:54:13
SARS-CoV-2 humans to mink and back in Netherlands (Science) 1:56:50
SARS-CoV-2 mink isolates in Denmark (pdf) 2:05:09
Preexisting antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in humans (Science) 2:22:29
Letters read on TWiV 681 36:53, 2:51:11
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:33:04

Dickson – OSIRIS-REx | NASA
Brianne – Virtual Science Museum Tours
Alan – Ring Fit Adventure
Rich – BUGSS Baltimore Underground Science Space
Vincent – Trilobite glassworks

Listener Pick

Gina and Joe – COVID Fan Tutte

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 680: Long-term COVID and ME/CFS

November 12, 2020

Mady, Fiona, and David join TWiV to discuss patients with long-term COVID and similarities and differences with ME/CFS.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker

Guests: Mady Hornig, Fiona Lowenstein, and David Tuller

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Download TWiV 680 (67 MB .mp3, 112 min)
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Body Politic 1:17:42
Survivor Corps 6:04
Long-haulers redefining COVID-19 (Ed Yong)
I’m 26. Coronavirus sent me to the hospital (Fiona Lowenstein) 1:17:31
We need to talk about what coronavirus recoveries look like (Fiona Lowenstein) 1:17:51
COVID-19 long term disability (Mady Hornig, David Tuller)
At 12, she’s a COVID long-hauler (Davie Tuller)
NICE rejects GET, Lightning Process, CBT as cure (virology blog)
I want to scream (Occupy M.E.) 1:26:08
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 679: Mink, mutation, and myocytes

November 8, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, Slovlakia’s plan to test all adults for SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral variants arising in Danish mink and their potential threat to humans, why it is unethical to carry out challenge trials, Nipah virus dynamics in bats and spillovers into humans, and direct cardiac damage by spike-mediated cardiomyocyte fusion.

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

Guests: Daniel Griffin and Amy Rosenfeld

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Download TWiV 679 (94 MB .mp3, 157 min)
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Links for this episode

Denmark will cull mink (Reuters) 55:27
State Serum Institute statement in Danish 55:33
Unethical to use SARS-CoV-2 human challenge studies (PNAS) 1:08:56
Nipah virus dynamics in bats (PNAS) 1:13:28
Spike-mediated cardiomyocyte fusion (ResearchSquare) 1:43:48
SARS-CoV-2 infects engineered heart tissues (bioRxiv) 2:05:26
You cannot lock up all risks groups (Das Coronavirus) 2:11:00
Letters read on TWiV 679 28:29, 1:04:57
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:14:46

Dickson – CNN News
Amy – I voted and Grace for President
Alan – The Story of More by Hope Jahren
Rich – OSIRIS-REx and 101955 Bennu
Vincent – The Vexed Muddler

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 678: Fishing for viruses with Nels Elde

November 5, 2020

Nels joins TWiV to reveal the discovery of a picornavirus of zebrafish by measuring immune responses in the host, genome sequence analysis of the White House COVID-19 outbreak, and a six-fold higher SARS-CoV-2 exposure rate than reported cases in German children.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

Guest: Nels Elde

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Download TWiV 678 (67 MB .mp3, 111 min)
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Links for this episode

Zebrafish virus discovery by visualization (Curr Biol) 7:17
Viral genome sequencing of White House COVID-19 outbreak (medRxiv) 55:56, 1:01:15
Genetic signature of virus that may have infected Trump (NY Times) 56:18
Sixfold higher SARS-CoV-2 infection than reported in children (Med) 1:06:10
Letters read on TWiV 678 1:12:29
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 58:37, 1:42:57

Kathy – Why art is important and Tagging an asteroid
Rich – Vendee Globe
Vincent – PrePubMed

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 677: Does antibody really know what time it is?

November 1, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, then we discuss rapid deployment of SARS-CoV-2 testing by research laboratories in San Francisco, longitudinal observation of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in patients, and listener questions on vaccines, loss of smell, face masks, and more.

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

Guest: Daniel Griffin

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Download TWiV 677 (97 MB .mp3, 162 min)
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Links for this episode

Daniel’s COVID-19 graph (Twitter) 2:07, 10:30
Cornell U containment victory (Bloomberg) 5:51
Regeneron mAb trial paused (WSJ) 59:55
CLIAHUB (PLoS Path) 1:05:15
Serum antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 over time (paper one, two, three) 1:17:45
Letters read on TWiV 677 40:00, 1:54:35
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:25:45

Dickson – Comedy Wildlife Photography
Brianne – Ed Yong – Science reporting during a pandemic
Alan – Tree Story by Valerie Trouet
Rich – Vaccine Investigation and Online Information Network
Vincent – Wearing is Caring

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 676: Tragic gene flow from Neanderthals

October 29, 2020

In this episode we explain how regions of the human genome associated with severe COVID-19 are identified, the finding that one of these regions was inherited from Neanderthals, and prolonged SARS-CoV-2 reproduction in an immunocompromised patient.

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

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Download TWiV 676 (72 MB .mp3, 120 min)
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Links for this episode

Genome wide association study of severe COVID-19 (NEJM) 8:53, 28:35
Major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 inherited from Neanderthals (Nature) 10:03
COVID-19 host genetics initiative (Eur J Hum Gen)
Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding in immunocompromised host (J Inf Dis) 44:08
Krugman on Barrington Declaration (NY Times) 1:04:13
Letters read on TWiV 676 1:06:49
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 1:47:32

Brianne – Kids Meet a Virologist
Kathy – Harvard glass marine invertebrates 3D online
Rich – Chernobyl fungi
Vincent – Artologica

Listener Pick

Justin – Totally Under Control

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 675: Forget what you’ve herd about immunity

October 25, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, then we discuss Bill Foege’s letter to CDC director Robert Redfield, the false promise of herd immunity for COVID-19, secret blueprints for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials released, and neuropilin-1 as a possible entry protein for the virus.

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

Guest: Daniel Griffin

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Download TWiV 675 (105 MB .mp3, 174 min)
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Links for this episode

Excess COVID-19 Deaths by Age and Race and Ethnicity (MMWR) 11:31
Excess COVID-19 deaths (JAMA) 13:02
SARS-CoV-2 transmission (CDC) 15:42
UK challenge trial (Nature) 7:00, 2:23:44
Inflammatory cytokine signature for severe COVID-19 (Nature) 30:42
Death in AstraZeneca vaccine trial (Reuters) 33:07
Herpetic Legion – Reactivation (YouTube) 47:34
Tech position with Dr. Rosenfeld 49:14
Biological safety officer position at CUMC 49:33
Support MicrobeTV at Parasites Without Borders 48:58
Foege letter to Redfield (text, NPR article) 50:50
False promise of herd immunity (Nature) 57:27
Secret vaccine plans released (NY Times) 1:38:19
Neuropilin-1 and SARS-CoV-2 entry (paper one, two) 1:48:26
Letters read on TWiV 675 33:02, 2:01:58
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:41:55

Dickson – Nikon Small World Photography Competition
Brianne – Modeling Herd Immunity for measles
Alan – Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Rich – Boundless Body Radio Bethany and Casey Ruff
Vincent – The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 674: In the company of coronaviruses with Lisa Gralinski

October 22, 2020

Lisa joins TWiV to discuss her research on the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, including work on vaccines and an antiviral, then we review the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as a potential analgesic, and listener questions.