April writes:
Dear TWiV Team,
First, let me say how much I appreciate everything you do to make virology accessible and engaging. TWiV has deepened my understanding of science in ways I never expected and made listening to in-depth discussions of topics I don’t understand fun!
That brings me to a suggestion about something that comes up occasionally on the show. Every once in a while, you get an email asking you to make the content more accessible for non-scientist listeners. When you address this, it sometimes feels like the response is to overcompensate, defining every method, every piece of jargon, and diving into granular detail. While I understand the intent, this approach can get a bit tedious, and for listeners like me, it doesn’t help as much as you might think. I’m not a scientist—I don’t have an advanced degree (in science), and it will take more than a few definitions to get me to understand what you’re talking about. While I appreciate the effort, these details still go way over my head. Sometimes you even have to explain things to each other, so I definitely will not understand the technicalities!
Instead, I have a suggestion: at the end of each paper discussion, could you set aside a little time for a “lay summary”? Similar to what NIH asks for in grants, this would be a brief explanation of:
- What was the research question?
- How did they try to answer it? (Not in detail—just broadly. Did they study cells? Mice? Humans?)
- What did they find?
- What does it all mean? (A “so what” section—why does this matter, and what are the broader implications?)
I think this approach would help non-scientist listeners like me stay connected to the bigger picture without interrupting the flow of your conversations. It could also be a great way to highlight those moments where Brianne shares what the findings “make her think about.” Alan might be particularly great at summarizing for a lay audience, and Rich already does a good job of remembering we don’t all have the same background as you all do.
This would supplement the in-depth discussions and would be a way to tie everything together in more accessible language at the end of each paper. To make this a little easier, I’ve attached two prompts that you could put into ChatGPT after uploading an article. The first will give you a lay summary, similar to the way Vincent sometimes summarizes things he’s trying to understand on some of the other podcasts. The second will give you a really simple summary, suitable for Congress! I don’t know which you would want to use, but it seems like it would be fun to discuss where you agree with or disagree with ChatGPT’s summary!
Thank you so much for considering this suggestion. I’ve learned more from your show than I can put into words, and I’ll continue listening, even though I can’t quite follow the details.
Sincerely,
April
Rachel writes:
In your discussion of the first paper – the snippet? – in TWIV 1167 the mention of proteases and protease inhibitors had me thinking, “this sounds very familiar!”. Dickson then brought up that there is a condition that people have involving a lack of protease inhibitor… and I believe he may have been thinking of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, a condition that I have. Dickson wasn’t sure how this condition affects people, and the answer is it depends on their genotype, but it also depends on environmental factors and possibly other not yet understood factors as well.
To briefly explain it – alpha-1-antitrypsin is made in the liver, so people with the condition can be liver affected. The protein is made in the liver, but is misfolded and can’t get out of the liver which causes liver scarring. This scarring can cause anything from mild disease to liver failure. A liver transplant cures the condition (as long as the donor doesn’t have alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency!) Apparently the most important role a1at plays is in the lungs, so “alphas” (as we call ourselves) can be lung-affected as well. It can mean a high frequency of exacerbations, ie, lung infections, as well as other conditions such as COPD. Most alphas are one or the other. Some, like me, are only mildly affected in both the liver and the lungs (so far, anyway!), despite having a severe genotype, ZZ. Many lung-affected alphas receive weekly infusions of plasma containing a1at. This replacement therapy is believed to help preserve lung function. Many lung-affected alphas progress to the point of needing a lung transplant. These people will then have well-functioning lungs, but will continue to lack a1at, so many of these people resume infusions some time after their transplant. The alpha-1 foundation is a fantastic resource for those of us who are affected, as well as those who just want to know more. There are a handful of other conditions associated with a1at deficiency.
I also have a kidney transplant, the need for which resulted from a post-strep infection of my kidneys as a child. This was treated to stop the acute infection, but my kidney function gradually and slowly declined until I received a transplant 50 years later! I have asked alpha-1 researchers – could there be a connection between a1at deficiency and my inability to fully recover from post-strep glomerulonephritis? They say they would need to biopsy my native kidneys to find out. I suspect that a savvy team of immunologists might be able to come up with some interesting thoughts about this.
I have often thought that I would love for your team to devote a whole episode to this condition. Wouldn’t that be a great topic for IMMUNE?
I love all of your shows. Thank you for all that you do!
Rachel – retired high school teacher of chemistry and biology, and all-around lover of all things science!
Leigh writes:
Hey TWIV,
I’m pretty concerned about the H5N1 levels in wastewater in California, and now the Canadian in ICU with confirmed H5N1, also having Covid.
It feels y’all are on a very slippery slope ….. should I be buying in more masks ?
Feels like we are a winter flu season away from a new pandemic.
Kia ora rawa atu
Leigh