TWiV 33: Live in Philly

May 24, 2009

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier, and Raul Andino

Vincent, Alan, Dick, and Raul Andino recorded TWiV live at the ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia, where they discussed increased arterial blood pressure caused by cytomegalovirus infection, restriction of influenza replication at low temperature by the avian viral glycoproteins, first isolation of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania, and current status of influenza.



Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #33 (51 MB .mp3, 74 minutes)

Links for this episode:

Weekly Science Picks

DickNational Museum of the History of Science and Medicine, Leiden
AlanBeginning Mac OS X Programming
Vincent
Vaccinated by Paul Offit
RaulHubbleSite

Thanks to Chris Condayan and ASM for making TWiV live possible. Recorded and edited by Chris Condayan and Ray Ortega.

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

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3 comments on “TWiV 33: Live in Philly

  1. Brent Jun 2, 2010

    Hi Guys, excellent podcast for IT business analyst. Just wondering about flu/cold transmission in the household. Would sharing toothpaste be a valid way to transmit. I figure it would ie mouth to brush, brush to toothpaste tube, next person has toothpaste tube to brush, brush to mouth. or it this paranoia :). or does tooth paste kill it? interesting đŸ™‚

    thanks

    • It's a good question – whether toothpaste tubes spread influenza. It
      depends on how much virus would be present; my feeling is that levels
      would be too low. From saliva to toothbrush to tube; plus the time
      sitting on the toothbrush until the next contact with tube, would
      result in low amounts of virus that would not effectively transmit. As
      for toothpaste – I'm looking at a tube of Crest and the only
      ingredient listed is 0.243% sodium fluoride, not known to be an
      influenza antiviral. The other components are likely to be flavors and
      fillers. Bottom line: I don't worry about toothpaste as a way of
      transmitting influenza.