TWiV 610: Coronavirus FAQ

May 7, 2020
CoV_bank

The TWiV team summarizes serology-based tests for SARS-CoV-2, lack of effect of ACE inhibitors or ARBs on COVID-19 severity, and answers listener questions.

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

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

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13 comments on “TWiV 610: Coronavirus FAQ

  1. Markus Niederberger May 7, 2020

    Whenever the topic “Did the virus escape from the Wuhan Lab” pops up, you discuss the topic if it was man made.
    There is a whole ‘nother possible route: That the natural virus was investigated in the lab and somehow got out (in a employee who contracted it or a lab animal that somehow got snitched.)
    Different motive of the lab work altogether.
    Could you give this some thought some time?

  2. Hi Vincent, i just read this article a little while ago-https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-man-who-beat-the-1957-flu-pandemic/ and would be interested if you could share anything you know about Hilleman from your work in the field over the years. Thank you. Appreciate all these great wealth of info from the people in the trenches.

    there was a mention of dried cherries on episode 604, try these: https://www.smeltzerorchards.com/ Kathy may know of them.
    try the dried strawberries-amazing. they also have a mixed fruits,. Keith, the owner is a great guy.

  3. Matt Bowman May 7, 2020

    Uh oh. Looks like apple has labeled this episode as “510”. Great stuff as usual none the less. I’m so glad I finally had a chance to contribute something commensurate to my intellect.

    PS. I’m a geologist by trade.

  4. Brennan Ophelia May 7, 2020

    Prior to the pandemic the United States was short 1,000,000 Rns.
    If schools remain virtual, what kind of disaster can we expect?

    Perhaps colleges that offer nursing and other medical degrees can look at two shifts of classes, if only for the good of the order. Currently BSN programs require PhD prepared staff, and 2 year RN programs require a Masters in Nursing Education (note not masters in education) perhaps short term teaching institutes can widen their net for the instructor pool? This could potentially meet the needs of the nation, of the potential students, and future patients.

  5. I’ve used 3 different browsers (Firefox, Brave, and Web) to “click on the 3 dots” trying to get to a transcript and none of them worked.
    Still no option to save or get a transcript.

    • Norman Bauman May 10, 2020

      Do a Google search for:

      how to download a transcript from youtube

      and you’ll find it described many different ways.

      It works for me (most of the time).

      Sometimes it doesn’t work for some reason I can’t figure out.

      I’m shut indoors, otherwise I would try it again on a couple of different computers.

  6. Matthew May 7, 2020

    Looking at this graph using NYC resp data:
    https://weinbergerlab.shinyapps.io/NYC_syndromic/
    does it look like intake into hospitals has stabilized?

  7. Scott May 8, 2020

    Thanks for another great episode, i just heard a great podcast with ER Dr Avir Mitra at Mt Sinai in new york (twitter @avirrr) , on Radiolab maybe he’s someone worth you guys talking to.

    Any thoughts on what he mentioned regarding treating covid patients….
    “We’re seeing finding that can’t be explained just by the lungs..
    the wide away of symptoms.. neurological issues, skin issues, migraines… one hypothesis is this idea of coagulaopathy
    we heard it from washington state, seen weird lab values..

    high levels of clotting enzymes..
    could it be this virus is introducing tiny clots all over the body..
    this could explain why we are seeing problems in the heart
    and in the kidneys

    maybe its not a problem with the organ, maybe its with the blood supply..
    our hematology dept, recommended to try putting these patients on blood thinners.. at Mt Sinai we are now immediately putting all new patients on blood thinners ”

    from 26:00 in the mp3..
    https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/dispatch-5-dont-stop-believin

  8. Jack Halley May 8, 2020

    Can you directly answer the questions brought up by this article and explain where it’s wrong?

    https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741

    Thanks,

    Jack Halley

  9. Paul Hunchak May 8, 2020

    Thank you for your dedicated work for science communication People are wearing gloves as well as facemasks here on Long Island. I recall that for food service disposable gloves prevent transmission of diseases through open skin wounds. Are skin wounds a point of entry for the Corona viris? Should we be wearing gloves a a barrier for transmission?

  10. Richard Cornell May 8, 2020

    My mind is a little weird. My current knowledge of human virus has only started with TWiV in January.
    If man can not create a new virus or for that matter life itself. Could I tweet this or a current virus. Like feeding a plant so to produce a new strain of it. If I marry it with another similar type of virus what will be the outcome?
    If this current virus COVID-19 came from a bat blood or its poop then mutated in a human is it going to again mutate into another strain of a flu virus any time soon?
    I’m 78 years old. Not worry since I have not been near more than one person in two months.

  11. Norman Bauman May 9, 2020

    Another link for this program.

    04:40 this weekend John Oliver actually did a whole segment on antibody tests and it was wonderful

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rl4c-jr7g0
    COVID-19
    Coronavirus VI: Testing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
    May 4, 2020

    As experts encourage widespread coronavirus testing, John Oliver discusses exactly how much testing the US has done, the difference between diagnostic and antibody tests, and why we need to do more.

  12. Have you already addressed “serial passage”–see “Making viruses the natural way” NG–(this is the only one I listened to so far & can you convert your talks into texts to have a search function)? I feel that your group is peer pressuring each other out of considering the Wuhan lab as a source to the point of being overconfident. You started the topic with the label of conspiracy so of course only a quack could find it plausible. The best scientists are true skeptics. Why is this important and not a waste of time? Well as of today I can think of 300,000 reasons and counting. The lab should be subject to an intense investigation similar to an OSHA team descending on a work site if a fatality occurred. If the virus is natural, which appears to be universally agreed upon, then it must have had a predecessor. Serial Passage is all about accelerating the natural evolution. It replaces the time variable with the effort variable. It had to come from somewhere. It had to evolve. What if the predecessor of this virus was placed in a serial passage experiment? In fact, run an experiment to find out. Create the predecessor and run it through these tests if not computer simulations. The only other plausible explanation for this virus is that it had existed for a long time yet it took a unique set of circumstances to transfer or that is a new virus and immediately jumped to people. Both possible, but the timing of the Wuhan research seems to make this virus entirely too coincidental.