This Week in Virology

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TWiV 589: Coronavirus update - it could be bad Mar 01, 2020

Show notes

Vincent and Rich update the current situation with COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, including fatality ratios, virus spreading outside of China, immunity to infection, vaccines, antivirals and much more.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

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Links for this episode

WHO CoV sitreps
How to Prepare for the Coronavirus (NY Times)
Multiple shedding routes of SARS-CoV-2 (Emerg Microbes Inf)
Cruise ship a/c could promote virus spread (Purdue news)
Image credit
Letters read on TWiV 589
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 588: Coronavirus update - Save the pangolin! Feb 23, 2020

Show notes

The TWiV team returns this week to SARS-CoV-2019 coverage to review the latest epi curves, the fatality rate, furin cleavage site and receptor binding domain in the spike glycoprotein, related CoV recovered from pangolins, evidence that the virus did not escape from a laboratory, and many more questions sent in by listeners.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

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Links for this episode

WHO CoV sitreps
Epidemiology of COVID-19 (China CDC)
COVID-19 incubation period (J Med Virol)
China clinical trials for COVID-19 (Nature)
Furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 spike (virology blog)
Proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2 (Virological)
Pangolin photos (Nat Geo)
Letters read on TWiV 588
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Kathy - The deep sea Rich - World's oldest message in a bottle Dickson - Coronavirus: A visual guide Vincent - Recent NSABB meeting Videocasts Day 1 Day 2

Listener Picks

Stephen - This podcast will kill you Neva - China's surveillance Sophia - WHO online courses

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 587: One bite is all it takes Feb 16, 2020

Show notes

Vincent and Rich return to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to speak with Dennis Bente, Shannan Rossi, Nikos Vasilakis, and Scott Weaver about their work on viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Guests: Dennis Bente, Shannan Rossi, Nikos Vasilakis, and Scott Weaver

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Links for this episode

Measles virus vectored chikungunya vaccine (J Inf Dis)
World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses
Insect-specific alphavirus vaccine vector (Nat Med)
Legacy of arbovirus hunters (Viruses)
Electron microscopy for novel arboviruses (Viruses)
Sylvatic dengue (Am J Trop Med Hyg)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 586: Coronavirus update: wash your hands Feb 09, 2020

Show notes

In this week's coverage of the coronavirus epidemic, the TWiV team discusses the fatality rate, China's initial reaction to the outbreak, conspiracy theories, how long the virus remains infectious on surfaces, and evidence for virus in the intestinal tract.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne

Download TWiV 586 (72 MB .mp3, 119 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

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Links for this episode

China reacted too slowly to epidemic (NY Times)
Wuhan rounds up infected (NY Times)
2019-nCoV asymptomatic transmission report flawed (Science)
Mucus reduces effectiveness of alcohol gels (mSphere)
SARS-CoV in feces (NEJM, Gastroenterology)
Inadequate plumbing and spread of SARS-CoV (WHO)
Persistence of virus on surfaces (one, two, three, four)
Letters read on TWiV 586
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Brianne - Mutation, Adaptation, and Virus Genomes Alan - The Comet Rich - Finding Your Roots: Science Pioneers Dickson - Let's Fill Our Cities With Taller, Wooden Buildings Vincent - Twenty-first century plague by Thomas Abraham

Listener Pick

Mark - Tracking CoV infections Sophia - Legislative approaches to immunization

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 585: The coronavirus epidemic Feb 02, 2020

Show notes

The TWiVerers continue their coverage of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, as the number of cases increase dramatically and the virus begins person-to-person transmission in other countries.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Links for this episode

ASV 2020
Real time tracking of 2019-nCoV (JHU)
Estimation of 2019-nCoV R0 (Int J Inf Dis)
WHO Sitreps on 2019-nCoV
Coronavirus overtakes SARS (SCMP)
HHS press conference
Discovery of 2019-nCoV (bioRxiv)
Rich CoV genes in bats (PLoS Path)
Early 2019-nCoV transmission dynamics (NEJM)
Clinical features of early 2019-nCoV patients (Lancet)
Remdesvir for MERS-CoV (Nat Commun)
Transmissibility of 2019-nCoV (Imperial Coll, pdf)
Comparison of R0 of pathogens (Guardian)
Forecast of 2019-nCoV (WHO, Univ Hong Kong, pdf)
Quammen on 2019-nCoV (NY Times)
Benefits of handwashing (NY Times)
Asymptomatic 2019-CoV transmission (NEJM)
Summary of TWiV 584
Surgical vs N95 masks (JAMA)
Letters read on TWiV 585
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Brianne - Pandemic Alan - Educated by Tara Westover Rich - Star Trek: Picard Dickson - Highest Resolution Image Ever Taken of Surface of the Sun Kathy - Scientists make vampire bats 'glow' to simulate vaccine spread Vincent - Virology Lectures 2020

Listener Pick

Edward - Virus snowflake designs Anthony - Microbe Hunting Autism to Zika

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 584: Year of the coronavirus Jan 26, 2020

Show notes

Coronavirus expert Ralph Baric joins TWiV to explain the virology and epidemiology of the recent zoonotic outbreak spreading across China and overseas.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove,Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler

Guest: Ralph Baric

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Links for this episode

ASV 2020
WHO coronavirus sitreps
CIDRAP article on coronavirus vaccines
Phylogenetic analysis of 2019-nCoV
ACE2 is 2019-nCoV receptor (bioRxiv)
Visual explainer of Huanan market (SCMP)
Clinical features of 2019-nCoV patients (Lancet)
Familial cluster of pneumonia caused by 2019-nCoV (Lancet)
SARS-CoV 29 nt deletion reduces replication (Sci Rep)
NSABB
2019 TWiV World Tour t-shirt
Letters read on TWiV 584
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Alan - Library plug-in for Firefox or Chrome Rich - Sounds of the Solar Wind (Parker Solar Probe) Dickson - Stunning wildlife photos Kathy - Incomplete list of things that blow the minds of intro bio students Vincent - Mosquito photographs by Alex Wild (and anti-pick)

Listener Pick

Justin - YadaYadaYada virus

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 583: Galveston virus hunters Jan 19, 2020

Show notes

Vincent and Rich travel to Galveston National Laboratory to speak with Jim LeDuc, Tom Ksiazek, and Bob Tesch about their long careers as virus hunters.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Guests: Jim LeDuc, Tom Ksiazek, and Bob Tesh

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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 582: This little virus went to market Jan 12, 2020

Show notes

TWiV provides updates on the new coronavirus causing respiratory disease in China, the current influenza season, and the epidemic of African swine fever, including determination of the three-dimensional structure of the virus particle.

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

Download TWiV 582 (71 MB .mp3, 118 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

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Links for this episode

ASV 2020
NJ ready to remove religious vaccine exemptions (Patch)
New virus causing pneumonia in China (NY Times)
New China virus is coronavirus (NY Times, ProMedMail)
Weekly influenza cases (CDC)
Future of influenza vaccines (Vaccines)
Household influenza vaccine study (Int J Epidemiol)
African swine fever (USDA)
African swine fever infographics (one, two)
Race for African swine fever vaccine (Scientist)
3D structure of African swine fever virus (J Biol Chem)
Letters read on TWiV 582
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - Mayo Clinic - Ken Burns; Patient Care and Health Information Dickson - Australia Fires; Insect ecology; Smoke and aerosols Kathy - runcible Vincent - Without a Vaccine, These Are Your Odds

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 581: Alimentary particles Jan 05, 2020

Show notes

For the first TWiV of 2020 we reveal that microbiome depletion with antibiotics alters the immune response to influenza vaccine, and how successive blood meals facilitate virus dissemination in mosquitoes and transmission potential.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Links for this episode

ASV 2020
Vaccines are safe and effective (Science)
Microbiome perturbation alters response to flu vaccine (Cell)
Successive blood meals aid virus dissemination in mosquitoes (Nat Micro)
Letters read on TWiV 581
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Science Picks

Brianne - Retrovirus cookie cutter! (and Phage, Adenovirus, Rabies virus, and Antibody Alan - "Yah! Yah! Yah!" by Jack London, and the true story it's based on Dickson - Why whales are big but not bigger Kathy - Dual Axis Illusion Vincent - The Fall of the Faculty by Benjamin Ginsberg

Listener Pick

Suellen - Patient Zero podcast

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees.

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

TWiV 580: Noncoding RNA with Chris Sullivan Dec 29, 2019

Show notes

From the University of Texas at Austin, Vincent and Rich speak with Chris Sullivan about his work on miRNAs encoded in the genomes of polyomaviruses and papillomaviruses, and how an RNA triphosphatase restricts hepatitis C virus replication.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Guest: Chris Sullivan

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Links for this episode