TWiV 346: A double helical career

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

Guest: Joan Steitz

This episode was recorded at the 34th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology, where Vincent, Rich, and Kathy spoke with Joan Steitz, a tireless promoter of women in science and one of the greatest scientists of our generation.

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Weekly Science Picks

Kathy – Charity Hall
Rich – Ribosome binding sites of phage R17 mRNA
Vincent – Pluto flyby

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TWiV 346Photo credit: Matt Evans (click for a big view)

TWiV 345: How a vaccine got the nod

PandemrixHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiVonauts review how the weather affects West Nile virus disease in the US, benefit of B cell depletion for ME/CFS patients, and an autoimmune reaction induced by influenza virus vaccine that leads to narcolepsy.

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This episode is sponsored by ASM GAP – turn your science into a company

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson – Algal DMS releasing enzyme
Alan – Science of beer aging
Kathy – The Art of Science winners
Vincent – The future of Lego plastics

Listener Pick of the Week

Eric – Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazzilit
Stephen – The Martian by Andy Weir (audiobook)

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TWiV 344: Glasgwegians go viral

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Ruth Jarrett, Glen Nemerow, and Esther Schnettler

At the Glasgow Science Festival microTALKS, Vincent speaks with Ruth, Glen, and Esther about their research on viruses and Hodgkin lymphoma, adenovirus structure and entry into cells, and interactions between arthropod borne viruses and their hosts.



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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

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TWiV 343: The silence of the turnips

Argonaute rolesHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiVerinoes discuss the potential for prion spread by plants, global circulation patterns of influenza virus, and the roles of Argonautes and a viral protein in RNA silencing in plants.

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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 1:41:45

Dickson – Global rainfall and snowfall map and A Week in the Life of Rain
Alan – Automated patch clamp
Kathy – More Women in Science mini Legos
Rich – The Martian trailer
Vincent – It’s a bug’s life

Listener Pick of the Week

May – p53 by Sue Armstrong

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TWiV 342: Public epitope #1

virusesHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiVniks discuss the structure of a virus that reproduces in an extreme environment, long-term consequences of Ebolavirus infection, and VirScan, a method to identify the different virus infections you have had in your lifetime.

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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 1:26:20

Dickson – Incredible photos
Alan – Alone in a room full of science writers
Kathy – Calico cats and Siamese cats
Rich – Missing link in evolution
Vincent – Podcasts saving NPR and Podcasting blossoms

Listener Pick of the Week

Jenny – What Bill Gates is afraid of
Neva – The Kardashian Index

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TWiV 341: Ebolavirus experiences

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Adam Kucharski, Gillian Slack, and Emma Thomson

Vincent returns to the University of Glasgow MRC-Center for Virus Research and speaks with Emma, Gillian, and Adam about their ebolavirus experiences: caring for an infected patient, working in an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone, and making epidemiological predictions about the outbreak in west Africa.



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TWiV 340: No shift, measles

selection biasHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiV teams reviews a MERS-coronavirus serosurvey and an outbreak in South Korea, and constraints on measles virus antigenic variation.

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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 1:40:15

Dickson – Singapore Flower Dome  and Cloud Forest
Alan – Rescuing biomedical research
Kathy – The value of basic research
Rich – Virology 60th Anniversary Issue
Vincent – Careers in virology: Science writing and journalism

Listener Pick of the Week

Pritesh – How T cells kill cancer cells
Ramon – The power of herd immunity

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TWiV 339: Herpes and the sashimi plot

herpesvirus and sashimiHosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Kathy Spindler

Tre TWiV amici present three snippets and a side of sashimi: how herpesvirus inhibits host cell gene expression by disrupting transcription termination.

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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 1:29:50

Alan – Fooling millions into thinking chocolate helps weight loss
Kathy – Approaching Pluto
Vincent – ASM Agar art contest

Listener Pick of the Week

Daniel – FB pages you need to stop sharing from (one and two)
Ken – Bird box science (canceled)

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TWiV 338: Coyotes have sushi

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Kathy Spindler

Guest: Laura Newcomb

Vincent and Kathy visit Laura Newcomb at California State University San Bernardino, where they talk about Laura’s viral tattoos, and a protein that protects the mosquito brain from lethal flavivirus infection.


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Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Weekly Science Picks 50:30

Laura – NP siRNA inhibits different influenza viruses (Antiviral Res)
Kathy – Time-lapse mining
Vincent – Does the public trust science?

Listener Pick of the Week

Paul – Degree-Off XKCD
Peter – Ebola containment, Hans Rosling, eLife podcast,  Naked Scientists

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Virus models

TWiV 337: Steamer

Mya arenariaHost: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Michael Metzger and Steve Goff

Vincent meets up with Michael and Steve to discuss their finding of a transmissible tumor in soft shell clams associated with a retrovirus-like element in the clam genome.

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Download TWiV 337 (50 MB .mp3, 69 min)
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Links for this episode

Timestamps by Jennifer. Thank you!

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@microbe.tv

The Hosts of TWiV

Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.


Dickson D.
Despommier, Ph.D.


Alan Dove, Ph.D.


Daniel Griffin, M.D.,
Ph.D., CTropMed CTH


Jolene Ramsey, Ph.D.


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