This Week in Virology

TWiV 687: Peter Hotez sticks to the vax

November 29, 2020

Peter Hotez joins TWiV to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, including why it went out of control in the US, the hijacking of public health practices by anti-science extremist groups, prospects for control, and whether we will be prepared for the next one.

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

Guest: Peter Hotez

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Download TWiV 687 (83 MB .mp3, 138 min)
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Links for this episode

Peter Hotez on TWiP 29 and TWiV Special 2:43
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 (Microbes Inf) 11:38
SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein vaccine candidate (bioRxiv) 34:50
Anti-science extremism in America (Microbes Inf) 7:29
Low cost accessible COVID-19 vaccine (PLoS NTD) 34:50
Letters read on TWiV 687 1:21:03
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:06:06

Dickson – The World’s First Energy-Positive Hotel to Open in Norway
Brianne – The Food Lab: Better Hom e Cooking Through Science
Alan – ACIP’s ethical principles for COVID-19 vaccine allocation
Rich – The Mandolorian
Vincent – T. rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 686: COVID-19 clinical update #38 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

November 28, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides his weekly clinical report on COVID-19, including new post-exposure guidelines from CDC, clinical trials of Remdesivir and convalescent plasma, FDA EUA for baricitinib and Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody and more.

Hosts: Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello

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Download TWiV 686 (21 MB .mp3, 35 min)
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Links for this episode

WHO Solidarity trial for Remdesivir and other drugs (medRxiv) 12:46
EUA for Baricitinib (FDA) 14:20
EUA for Casirivimab and Imdevimab (FDA) 15:26
RCT: No benefit of convalescent plasma (NEJM) 16:57
Letters read on TWiV 686 25:37
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 685: Pandemicky

November 26, 2020

The TWiVers analyze efficacy of the AstraZeneca/Oxford adenovirus vectored vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 did not infect miners who became ill 8 years ago after cleaning bat guano from a cave in Yunnan Province, and induction of antigen-specific germinal center responses and production of neutralizing antibody by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine but not purified protein.

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

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Download TWiV 685 (66 MB .mp3, 110 min)
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Links for this episode

AZD1222 vaccine efficacy (AstraZeneca) 1:19
Addendum to SARS-CoV-2 discovery paper (Nature) 16:15
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine and GC formation (Immunity) 29:35
What scientists say about masks (NY Times) 1:29:03
Letters read on TWiV 685 1:15:53
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:40:35

Brianne – Types of Scientists Coloring Book
Kathy – South Pole video
Rich – Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Vincent – Screenology (I interviewed Deb Sklut here)

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 684: Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 immune memory

November 22, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, and Shane Crotty explains a study of antibodies, B cells and T cells in patients which suggests that immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 might be long-lived.

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

Guests: Daniel Griffin and Shane Crotty

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Download TWiV 684 (110 MB .mp3, 184 min)
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Links for this episode

FDA authorizes Lucira mini home testing kit (FDA) 20:07
60 day outcomes of COVID-19 patients (Annals Int Med) 34:08
Immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 infection at 6 months (bioRxiv) 47:51
Letters read on TWiV 684 39:22, 1:57:00
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:44:51

Dickson – Benoit Mandlebrot’s 96 birthday
Brianne – #BlackinImmunoWeek
Rich – GoISSWatch ISS Tracking; Spot The Station (NASA)
Vincent – Microbes Rule

Listener Pick

Agda – Sandwalk

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

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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Download TWiV 683 (72 MB .mp3, 119 min)
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Links for this episode

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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Links for this episode

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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Links for this episode

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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Links for this episode

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!