This Week in Virology

TWiV 673: Wake up and smell the pandemic

October 18, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, we debunk the Great Barrington Declaration, and discuss smell and taste changes as early indicators of the pandemic, vascular disease and thrombosis in SARS-CoV-2 infected humans and rhesus macaques, and the ability of the swine pathogen SADS-CoV to infect human respiratory tract cells.

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

Guest: Daniel Griffin

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Download TWiV 673 (97 MB .mp3, 161 min)
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Links for this episode

Daniel’s COVID-19 testing strategy calculator (and medRxiv preprint) 19:24
US COVID-19 mortality rates (JAMA) 17:50
Final remdesivir report (NEJM) 20:23
Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 (NEJM) 21:47
Tech position with Dr. Rosenfeld 43:28
Biological safety officer position at CUMC 44:19
Support MicrobeTV at Parasites Without Borders 26:41, 43:20
Smell and taste changes as early pandemic indicators (Nat Comm) 1:01:57
Vascular disease and thrombosis in SARS-CoV-2 infected macaques (Cell) 1:12:45
SADS-CoV can infect human airway cells (PNAS) 1:32:16
Letters read on TWiV 673 27:08, 1:47:26
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:24:08

Dickson – The Age of Nature
Brianne – Virologist, Immunologist, Science Communicator pins and Virus Earrings
Alan – Sharks, Squalene, and a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine
Rich – 6th Annual Science Mill Benefit
Vincent – The Evolution of Infectious Disease by Paul Ewald

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 672: Black in Microbiology with Ari Kozik and Kishana Taylor

October 15, 2020

Ari and Kishana, two of the founders of Black in Microbiology, join TWiV to discuss the goals of the organization, then we review pauses of J&J and Lilly COVID-19 vaccine trials, preclinical studies of Regeneron’s SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody cocktail, reinfection of a patient in Nevada, and listener questions.

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

Guest: Ari Kozik and Kishana Taylor

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Download TWiV 672 (76 MB .mp3, 126 min)
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Links for this episode

Black microbiologists push for visibility (NY Times) 2:41
Black in Microbiology keynotes (YouTube) 12:04
Black in Microbiology 4:02
Black in Neuro 15:56
AstroKate rides again (and on TWiV 444) 55:27
COVID-19 testing strategy calculator (and medRxiv preprint) 1:04:32
Pause of J&J vaccine trial (STAT) 1:06:32
Pause of Lilly mAb trial (NY Times) 1:10:14
REGN-CoV-2 mAbs in animals (Science) 1:13:02
Regeneron investor slides on mAb phase 3 1:31:38
SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in US (Lancet Inf Dis) 1:33:34
Letters read on TWiV 672 1:38:42
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 1:52:22

Brianne – A Lab of One’s Own by Rita Colwell
Kathy – Endonym map
Rich – “The Coronavirus Unveiled” by Carl Zimmer
Vincent – Principles of Virology 5th Edition

Listener Pick

Les – Coronavirus cake
Mary – Choir finds a way to sing

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 671: Prizes, polio, and a pandemic puzzle

October 11, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, then Amy joins us to discuss the 2020 Chemistry Nobel Prize for gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9, continuing circulation of poliovirus in Afghanistan, inborn errors of interferon in patients with severe COVID-19, and listener questions.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Guests: Daniel Griffin and Amy Rosenfeld

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Download TWiV 671 (102 MB .mp3, 170 min)
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Links for this episode

ASH guidelines on anticoagulants in COVID-19 patients (ASH) 20:17
Followup of adults with noncritical COVID-19 (Clin Micr Inf) 25:06
Tocilizumab in COVID-19 ICU patients (Lancet Rheum) 18:18
Tech position with Dr. Rosenfeld 44:32
Biological safety officer position at CUMC 47:38
Support MicrobeTV at Parasites Without Borders 48:45
2020 Nobel Prize Chemistry (pdf) 51:21
Progress towards polio eradication Afghanistan (MMWR) 1:05:58
Inborn errors of IFN and serious COVID-19 (Science) 14:22, 1:22:54
Letters read on TWiV 671 33:58, 1:49:39
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:38:37

Amy – Coronavirus : A book for children by Kate Wilson and Nia Roberts
Alan – Lost Prologue
Rich – RAPS COVID-19 vaccine tracker
Vincent – A Crack in Creation by Doudna and Sternberg and Sternberg on TWiM 184

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 670: Coronavirus vaccine preparedness with Kizzmekia Corbett

October 8, 2020

Kizzmekia Corbett joins TWiV to review her career and her work on respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and coronaviruses and coronavirus vaccines, including her role in development and testing of a spike-encoding mRNA vaccine, and then we review the Nobel Prize for discovery of hepatitis C virus.

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

Guest: Kizzmekia Corbett

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Download TWiV 670 (76 MB .mp3, 127 min)
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Links for this episode

Pre-fusion structure of CoV spike (Nature)
Pre-fusion structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike (Science)
Evaluation of mRNA-1273 in nonhuman primates (NEJM) 30:54
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine from pandemic preparedness (Nature)
Nanoparticulate universal influenza vaccine from stem antigens (mBio) 48:36
Biological safety officer position at Columbia U 1:00:29
Medicine Nobel Prize for Hepatitis C virus (pdf) 1:01:14
Alter’s work on non-A non-B hepatitis (paper one, paper two) 1:04:39
Houghton: single clone of HCV genome (Science) 1:05:21
Rice: Transmission of hepatitis C to chimpanzee (Science) 1:06:42
Charlie Rice on TWiV 392 1:02:51
Chemistry Nobel Prize to Doudna and Charpentier (Nobel.org) 1:13:54
FDA releases stricter guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines (NY Times, FDA pdf) 1:15:54
Bullet points of Das coronavirus 1:17:47
Recovery of 1918 influenza virus stories (one, two) 1:22:39
Letters read on TWiV 670 1:26:39
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 1:58:26

Brianne – COVID-19 in Molecular Detail for Teaching
Kathy – Mars shining brightest since 2003
Rich – Lost Prologue
Vincent – Girl from Ipanema is weirder than you thought

Listener Pick

Sandra – Learn Medical Research

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV Special: Presidential COVID-19 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

October 5, 2020

Daniel Griffin discusses President Trump’s case of COVID-19, including the clinical course, the medications he received and why, and expectations for the next few weeks.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Daniel Griffin

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Download TWiV Special (20 MB .mp3, 34 min)
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Links for this episode

Regeneron CoV-2 mAb cocktail results (Regeneron) 7:11
Rethinking COVID-19 test sensitivity (NEJM) 26:08
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 669: All the wrong COVID-19 moves

October 4, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, including a discussion of the role of vitamin D in COVID-19, Michael and Christopher explain why we have made all the wrong moves during the pandemic, evidence that the D614G amino acid change improves transmission in hamsters, and listener questions.

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

Guests: Daniel Griffin, Michael B. Yaffe, and Christopher D. Barrett

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Download TWiV 669 (108 MB .mp3, 180 min)
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Links for this episode

Regeneron CoV-2 mAb cocktail results (Regeneron) 11:57
Vitamin D and COVID-19 (Lancet Diabet Endocrin) 28:51
J&J Ad26 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine phase 1/2a results (medRxiv) 30:21
All the wrong moves (Science Signaling) 58:10
Trump main drive of CoV misinformation (NYTimes) 2:07:46
Surgisphere scandal (The Scientist) 2:08:37
SARS-CoV-2 D614G earlier transmission in vivo (bioRxiv) 2:13:24
Das Coronavirus bullet points 2:28:02
Letters read on TWiV 40:28, 2:04:14, 2:28:23
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:46:13

Dickson – Why we should all wear masks
Brianne – Milestones in Vaccines
Rich – Wallpaper/fabric designs by David Goodsell
Vincent – Das Coronavirus bullet points and a new t-shirt

Listener Pick

Justin – COVID Alert NY App | Department of Health

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 668: Mice, bats, and coronaviruses with Tony Schountz

October 1, 2020

Tony Schountz joins TWiV to explain the work of his laboratory showing that deer mice can be infected with and transmit SARS-CoV-2, and how his colony of Jamaican fruit bats is being used to understand their response to virus infections.

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

Guest: Tony Schountz

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Download TWiV 668 (64 MB .mp3, 106 min)
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Links for this episode

SARS-CoV-2 infection of deer mice (bioRxiv) 9:56
Infection of Jamaican fruit bats with MERS-CoV (Sci Rep) 47,:28, 55:59
Immunological control of virus infections in bats (Front Immunol) 56:42
Transmission of bat influenza viruses in bats (Nat Micro) 47:32
Letters read on TWiV 668 1:05:06
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 1:36:20

Brianne – Virus Masks
Kathy – UV in the vineyards (video)
Rich – Great White Shark Attack
Vincent – Smart WiFi garage door opener

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 667: Building a better virus trap

September 27, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, review of the phase I and II trials of the Russian prime-boost vaccine, a mouse model that recapitulates age-dependent severe disease, and listener questions.

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

Guest: Daniel Griffin

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Download TWiV 667 (99 MB .mp3, 165 min)
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Links for this episode

Safety and immunogenicity of Russian COVID-19 vaccine (Lancet) 46:15
‘Questionable’ data in Russian vaccine results (Nature) 1:12:46
Mouse model for SARS-CoV-2 ALI and mortality (Cell) 1:15:06
Letters read on TWiV 667 33:47, 1:59:49
Letters to Humans 2:07:54
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks 2:28:50

Dickson – Rewilding Europe
Alan – How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
Rich – Gene drive engineered mosquitoes
Vincent – TWiEVO 60 with 12 guests!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 666: A far-UVC light bulb went off for David Brenner

September 24, 2020

David Brenner joins TWiV to explain how far-UVC lights could provide protection from SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne viruses in public places, solutions to face mask fogging, transmission during airplane flights, and listener questions.

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

Guest: David Brenner

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Download TWiV 666 (78 MB .mp3, 129 min)
Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

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Links for this episode

Far-UVC light inactivates viruses (paper one and two) 6:14
Tips to avoid mask fogging (YouTube, article one and two) 1:06:02
Funding for virus hunting 1:08:14
Jonna Mazet interview (YouTube) 1:10:19
Pandemic fake news (NY Times) 1:11:16
Airplane SARS-CoV-2 infections (summary, article one, two, three) 1:14:21
COVID-19: Wrong moves in wrong places (Science) 1:26:49
Das coronavirus bullet points
SARS-CoV-2 was not made in a lab (YouTube) 1:42:09
Letters read on TWiV 666 1:36:23
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Kathy – Comedy wildlife photo awards and ISS transits Mars

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 665: This half-week in coronavirology

September 20, 2020

Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, superspreading potential of SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong, structure of virion glycoprotein of a commmon cold coronavirus reveals changes driven by prolonged circulation in humans, and listener email.