Mauro writes:
Hello Vincent and team,
I remember many months ago you said COVID, masks and droplets made you realize you might be inhaling poop aerosols from flushing toilets, maybe contaminated with Norovirus, for example. Well now they tested it for you, and it seems you had a point.
“Commercial toilets emit energetic and rapidly spreading aerosol plumes”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24686-5.epdf
Listening to TWiV is one of the highlights of my week. Either TWiV is very good or I should get a life. (Or both 😝)
Thank you all for making me think and laugh.
Best,
Mauro
Ben writes:
Hi Twisters!
I came into the Twix Universe via TWiEVO well before the pandemic and have spilled over into TWiV and TWiM as well since mid-2020. Now I can’t get enough of it and am a regular Patreon donor.
Me and the family will be migrating from Switzerland to Australia on Christmas Eve, so the demographic of the occasional live stream I participate in will undergo an ever so slight shift.
During the long weeks of sorting and packing for the move, I quickly ran out of current episodes, and I wondered what I could listen to. So I jumped back to TWiV 579, just before the pandemic started, to learn how you as virus experts have perceived its unfolding.
It is truly inspiring to follow you all. For example notice how you could be dead wrong initially, but then openly admit it when the data contradicts you.
Or feel your continuous drive to educate and help people.
Or hear how you constantly strive to learn more. Despite some of you being “elderly elderly”, your appetite for learning doesn’t seem to stop.
Now that TWiV 1000 is coming up, do you already have special plans for that? Have you already decided on how to celebrate this achievement? How about you all visit Perth, Australia, and record an episode there? (Only half-joking)
Thanks for all you do and stay safe
Ben
DDD: I’d go in a minute!!!!
Marjan writes:
Have been wondering, why is the concept of memory T-cells (for Covid) not applicable also to the Flu vaccine? Is it specific to the spike protein (epitopes shared by all different variants) activating T cells and inducing memory?
Obviously NOT a virologist here!
Happy holidays
Marjan
Lisa writes:
Dear TWIV team,
Thank you so much for the podcast! I learn quite a bit from it.
Immediately after I recovered from COVID a few months ago my microbiome, which I had been working hard to restore ever since a short course of antibiotics early in the year, suddenly worsened noticeably. I have since done a fair amount of reading to see whether viral infections can affect microbiome and to try to find out what is the mechanism by which they would alter a microbiome. Answers to the first question are easy to find but I haven’t found answers to the second except as it relates to people with very serious infections being weakened by the infection to where their immune system can’t adequately respond to other threats. If a viral infection is far less serious than that but it still changes the microbiome how does it do it? It seems implausible that the same virus could infect mammalian cells and commensal microbes; can a virus be that much of a generalist?
Thank you again!
Lisa
Austin, Texas
Nancy writes:
Hello TWiV,
Full disclosure, I’m a very cold (7 degrees F and freshly covered with snow in MPLS, MN) student of Dr. Osterholm (Director of CIDRAP) and a Registered Biosafety Professional.
I’m writing because I wanted to bring to your attention to the many concerns of the recently published surgical/N95 paper if you have not already reviewed them. I heard the study mentioned on a recent TWiV but the potential flaws and implications of how the study may be used to reduce funding for proper PPE for HCW’s were not particularly highlighted. I’m hoping you can summarize the challenges with this study for the listeners if you haven’t already. I listen to all episodes but often I don’t get a chance until days after they are published.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-masks-vs-n95-respirators-health-workers-spurs-concerns
Thank you!
Nancy Rolstad, MS, RBP
Biosafety Specialist | nrolstad@umn.edu
Biosafety & Occupational Health Department | https://bohd.umn.edu/
University Health and Safety | University of Minnesota
Leah writes:
Good day
Thank you for the excellent podcast! I live in South Africa where we do not allow the import of rabbits in an effort to protect our endangered riverine rabbit from disease. Unfortunately, a couple of months ago, the most dreaded virus, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) was found in our country, and has seemed to be spreading, leaving many wild and a few domestic rabbits and hares dead in its wake. None of the vaccines for RHDV have been approved for use in our country and we’re still waiting to hear if they will be imported.
My question for you is: do you have any recommendations for curbing the spread? It sounds like the virus is extremely infectious and easily spread. Or do you have any ideas for vaccine import through our vets and government? At this point, I think all bunny owners will take any advice we can get.
Thank you!
Leah
Judy writes:
Hi, Dr Racaniello.
I am a long-time listener of TWIV, and I just published a paper in Nature Reviews Microbiology that I thought could make for a good listener pick.
In this review, we examine the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and innate immunity, and explore how antagonism and dysregulation of innate immunity contribute to COVID-19 severity. It is a comprehensive review with over 200 cited references, and it also contains a current summary of the NIH clinical guidelines. But mostly, it’s a great reminder that there’s more to the immune system than just antibodies!
The title is: Innate immune evasion strategies of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Judith M Minkoff and Benjamin tenOever
The complimentary share link provided by Nature Reviews Microbiology is: https://rdcu.be/c3b17
Dr tenOever and I put a lot of time and effort into ensuring the accuracy and fair balance of this information, and we truly hope it can be of use to the scientific community.
Thanks for all you do,
Judy Minkoff
P.S. It’s about 42ºF (5.5ºC) and cloudy here in NYC where I live. Looks like it’s going to rain any minute now!
Charles writes:
Hello TWiVers;
Cold, wet and just a good day to stay inside. My life partner found this and I think it is worth watching even on a nice day. Chris Wallace asked some good questions.
Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? Season 1, epitope 30: Dr. Anthony Fauci on HBO Max.
It is a CNN show. I don’t know if you can stream it from CNN.
Enjoy,
Charles
