The un-encapsidated TWiV Humans discuss finding hepatitis D virus-related sequences in birds and snakes, and fatal swine acute diarrhoea syndrome caused by a coronavirus of bat origin.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler
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Download TWiV 546 (74 MB .mp3, 122 min)
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Links for this episode
- European Virus Archive 4:21
- ASV early bird registration ends 15 May, 6:25
- FDA approves Dengvaxia 10:34
- Divergent hepatitis D-like agent in birds (Viruses) 21:18
- Novel deltavirus in snakes (mBio) 30:19
- SADS-coronavirus in piglets (Nature) 47:22
- Hosts and sources of endemic human coronaviruses (Adv Virus Res) 1:16:21
- Image credit
- Letters read on TWiV 546 7:30, 1:19:15
- Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!
This episode is sponsored by the 2019 Chem/Bio Defense Science and Technology Conference. Are you working on innovative research that can shape the future of chemical or biological defense? Submit your abstract and present your work to more than 1,500 leaders from government, academia and industry. Visit www.cbdstconference.com for more details.
Weekly Science Picks 1:42:11
Alan – Plots of Data visualization tool
Rich – How to control the brain; Meet UF Physician Kelly Foote, MD
Dickson – Oceanix
Kathy – Iceproofing large structures
Vincent – Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Paabo
Listener Pick
Johyne – NYTimes Mag Lab (sorry, no link)
Sheena – History of Vaccines by NPR
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
Sadly, much of the first paper on TWiV 546, hepatitis D like viruses and deltavirus, went over my head. I was stopped and left stranded while the discussion went on without me. There were two stop codons. The 1st was isoprenylation, an entirely new word for me. It conjured up chemistry classes and the thought I must have missed that chapter, lecture and lab! I could not begin to imagine what it was and why it was important. Rich later gave a definition, but it didn’t help me understand why or how this was significant to the discussion. Bah Humbug!!! Then, up popped the 2nd stop: “next generation sequencing”. As my mother would say, “I felt like a lost ball in high weeds.”
Maybe there is nothing for me to do but start a vocabulary list and look up what I don’t know. It will cut into the flow of the podcast but hopefully in future episodes the weeds will become shorter and shorter and I won’t feel as lost.
As always, thank you and your learned cohosts for your tireless and generous commitment to educating, teaching and inspiring future and past scientists.
Johnye
14 C; clear skies and a beautiful, slightly less than full moon.