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This Week in Virology Podcast The netcast about viruses - the kind that make you sick

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TWiV 184: Reforming science

twiv@twiv.tv (Vincent Racaniello)Author: Vincent Racaniello
Sun, May 20, 2012

Vincent, Rich, and Alan consider how to reform the scientific enterprise to make it more effective and robust.

Links for this episode:

• Reforming science: Methodological and cultural reforms (Infect Immun)
• Reforming science: Structural reforms (Infect Immun)
• Sharp rise in retractions (NY Times)
• Vannevar Bush
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 184

Weekly Science Picks

Alan - PubMed PubReMiner
Rich - Intentional Blindness (YouTube)
Vincent - Vaccine infographic

Listener Pick of the Week

Ken - Wattpad

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

Connor joins the TWiV team to discuss bats as hosts for major mammalian paramyxoviruses.

Links for this episode:

• NIH response to Osterholm letter (pdf)
• Who's afraid of the big, bad bioterrorist?
• Bats host major mammalian paramyxoviruses (Nature Comm)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 183

Weekly Science Picks

Connor - Microbiology Twitter journal club
Alan - Where the Wild Types Are (YouTube)
Rich - May 14th: Smallpox vaccination day
Dickson - Searching for pore-fection (Science)
Vincent - RRResearch

Listener Pick of the Week

Stephen - Every Major's Terrible (xkcd)

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Alan Dove, and Michael J. Imperiale

Michael joins the TWiV crew to discuss the recently published influenza H5N1 transmission paper and how it was viewed by the NSABB.

Links for this episode:

• About the NSABB
• The Kawaoka paper (Nature)
• Mutant flu paper published (Ed Yong)
• Osterholm letter (pdf)
• US policy for dual research of concern (pdf)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 182

Weekly Science Picks

Alan - 18th century shipping mapped
Rich - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Vincent - Air France 447 (Telegraph)

Listener Pick of the Week

Josh - Vaccines course by Dr. Paul Offit

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

Vincent, Rich, and Kathy discuss Cotia virus, a new poxvirus, Orf virus infections associated with handling goats and lamb, and the innate immune response to prions.

Links for this episode:

• Cotia virus (J Virol)
• Human Orf virus exposures (MMWR)
• IRF3 protects agains prion infection (J Virol)
• A mad cow in America (virology blog)
• Human orf (pdf)
• Space shuttle flies outside my window (YouTube)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 181

Weekly Science Picks

Kathy - Astronomy Picture of the Day (especially this and this)
Rich - Tom Lehrer Element Song (YouTube)
Vincent - Albert B. Sabin Archives

Listener Pick of the Week

Mark - Netter's Infectious Diseases by Elaine C. Jong and Dennis L. Stevens
Richard - Germs, Genes & Civilization by David P. Clark

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review association of an interferon-induced protein with severe influenza, and stabilization of HCV RNA by a microRNA.

Links for this episode:

• IFITM3 and severe influenza (Nature)
• Genetics of flu susceptibiligy (EurekAlert!)
• Stabilization of HCV RNA by Ago2-miR-122 (PNAS)
• Clinical trial of anti-mIR-122
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 180

Weekly Science Picks

Alan - Micro Empire (Vimeo)
Rich - Census of marine life
Vincent - Pinterest

Listener Pick of the Week

Mark - The Secret Life of Plankton (YouTube)

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Gertrud Radu

Gertrud joins the TWiVoners to review how dengue virus infection of mosquitoes alters blood feeding behavior, and gene therapy as practiced by parasitoid wasps.

Links for this episode:

• Renato Dulbecco, 1914-2012 (virology blog)
• William Jarrett, 83 (thanks, Lynn Enquist)
• Dengue virus infection of mosquitoes alters their behavior (PLoS Path)
• Does dengue make mosquitoes thirstier for blood? (NY Times)
• Polydnaviruses of braconid wasps (Science)
• Making nice with viruses (Science)
• Viral and wasp genes involved in symbiotic replication (J Virol)
• Amazing parasitic wasp images
• The Far Side cartoon on mosquitoes (gif)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 179

Weekly Science Picks

Gertrud - Bat on a plane! (MMWR)
Alan - The Rings of Earth (YouTube)
Rich - Giant Magellan telescope
Vincent - Hepatitis C new drug pipeline

Listener Pick of the Week

Ricardo - Evolution: The Natural History of Animal Skeletons
Peter - Self-assembly line (YouTube)

The TWiValians meet up with Tyler Sharp for a discussion on the Epidemic Intelligence Service and controlling dengue.

Links for this episode:

• 2010 dengue epidemic in Puerto Rico
• Marshall Islands dengue outbreak (one and two)
• Photo of Tyler by Loren Rodgers
• TWiV shout-out by NPR and CIDRAP
• NSABB reverses decision on H5N1 publication
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 178

Weekly Science Picks

Tyler - Co-infection with dengue and Leptospira (Emerging Inf Dis)
Alan - The Winged Scourge (YouTube)
Rich - Deepsea Challenge
Vincent - Why did a US advisory board reverse its stance? (Ed Yong)

Listener Pick of the Week

Sasha - Microfluidic Future
Adam - The Conversation
Jim -  ENIAC Programmers Project

A discussion of avian influenza H5N1 transmission experiments in ferrets and novel bunyaviruses at the 2012 Spring Conference of the Society for General Microbiology in Dublin, Ireland.

Links for this episode:

• Restricted data on H5N1 transmission (Science)
• Novel bunyavirus in China (NEJM and TWiV 127)
• Ten things about Schmallenberg virus (Microbiology Bytes)
• NSABB reverses decision on H5N1 papers (virology blog)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 177

Weekly Science Picks

Connor - Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2012
Vincent - Thoughts on academic scientists giving media interviews

Vincent, Alan, and Rich answer listener email about MS, CFS, EBV, B cells, virii, influenza B, scientific papers, and more.

Links for this episode:

• More than one way to skin a virus (comments)
• Aerobie aeropress
• Papers software
• Vaccinia movies (one and two)
• Lloyd Kozloff dies
• BSL4 facilities
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 176

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - Alan Alda's Flame Challenge (NY Times article, Science editorial)
Alan - ChronoZoom
Vincent - Academic Publishing is Broken by Michael P. Taylor

Listener Pick of the Week

Joel - Fighting a dengue outbreak by Tyler M. Sharp (parts one and two)
Sven-Urban - Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Vincent, Alan, and Matt discuss herpes simplex encephalitis in children with innate immune deficiency, and the local response to microneedle-based influenza skin immunization.

Links for this episode:

• Herpes encephalitis in children with TRIF deficiency (J Clin Inv)
• Toll-like receptor and cytosolic pattern recognition receptors
• Skin responses to influenza microneedle vaccine (mBio)
• Microneedles
• Fluzone intradermal influenza vaccine
• QDot nanocrystal technology
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 175

Weekly Science Picks

Matt - Phage and the Origins of Molecular Biology
Alan - Digital Imagine Institute
Vincent - iPad apps Goodreader and Notability

Listener Pick of the Week

Jane -Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth by Trevor Norton

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Vincent, Alan, and Rich consider whether pet dogs might transmit human noroviruses, and an RNA virus microRNA that might be involved in oncogenesis.

Links for this episode:

• Do pet dogs transmit human norovirus? (J Clin Virol)
• RNA virus miRNA that mimics oncomiR (PNAS)
• MicroRNA expression by an RNA virus (PNAS)
• Lab safety stickers jpg (thanks, Jon!)
• Amateur virologists (Zimmer, NY Times)
• Genome at home (Wired)
• Barbergators sing national anthem (YouTube)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 174

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - NOAA Buoy Data
Alan - Autism's False Prophets by Paul Offit
Vincent - Media Mining

Listener Pick of the Week

Mark - How the West fueled the AIDS epidemic
Henry - Regenesis
Rick - Biopunk: DIY scientists hack the software of life by Marcus Wohlsen

The TWiVites discuss seroevidence for human infection with avian influenza H5N1, and the discovery of a new influenza virus in Guatemalan bats.

Links for this episode:

• Seroevidence for human H5N1 infection (Science)
• Mammalian-transmissible H5N1 (mBio)
• New information about ferret-adapted H5N1 (NY Times, virology blog)
• New influenza virus from fruit bats (PNAS)
• Elsevier abandons open access assault (The Scientist)
• Le virus le plus dangereux?
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 173

Weekly Science Picks

Ashlee – AskScience (Reddit)
Michael - HealthMap (iPhone and Android app)
Rich – H5N1 research discussion at ASMBiodefense
Alan – El Yunque National Forest
Vincent – The Journal of Global Health

Listener Pick of the Week

Judi – NSF visualization challenge

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss atmicrobeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Kathy Spindler

Vincent and Kathy discuss how a virus may cause disease distant from its replication site, then review a day in the life of a senior microbiology professor.

Links for this episode:

• Celsius vs Centigrade
• Neuropathogenesis during polymicrobial infection (PLoS Pathogens)
• Tetramer staining (pdf)
• One
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 172

Matt joins the TWiVarians to review virus production in single cells and single virion genomics.

Links for this episode:

• H5N1 results will be published (NY Times)
• Virus production in single cells then and now
• Single virion genomics (PLoS One)
• Multiple displacement amplification (Wikipedia)
• Ranavirus killing turtles, tadpoles in Maryland (Washington Post)
• Three Dog Night
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 171

Alan, Rich, and Dickson discuss Edward Jenner's paper on cowpox vaccine, then move 200 years later to modern vaccines against norovirus, influenza H5N1, and more.

Links for this episode:

• Norton Zinder, 83 (Reuters)
• Jenner's cowpox vaccine paper (Bartleby, Gutenberg)
• Norovirus VLP vaccine (NEJM)
• Plant-grown H5N1 VLP vaccine (Reuters, PLoS One)
• Plant-grown norovirus VLP
• Hexavalent pediatric vaccine
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 170

Michael and the TWiV team review epidemiology basics, including fatality ratios.

Links for this episode:

• Michael's blog and podcast
• Epidemiology literature critique (PowerPoint)
• Seven mistakes in epidemiology (ETE)
• Snow cholera map
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 169

Welkin joins the TWiV team for a discussion of HIV prophlaxis using vectored antibodies, and the influenza H5N1 virus studies in ferrets that were not redacted.

Links for this episode:

• Vectored HIV immunoprophylaxis (Nature)
• Vectored immunoprophylaxis - the Movie (YouTube)
• Adeno-associated virus (Wikipedia)
• In vitro evolution of H5N1 towards human receptor specificity (Virology)
• Endogenous viral genes non-essential in chicken (Nature)
• Rates of HIV transmission per coital act (J Inf Dis)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 168

The complete TWiVome deconstructs the movie Contagion.

Vincent, Dickson, Rich, and Alan review cell proteins essential for entry of hepatitis C, Ebola, and measles viruses.

Links for this episode:

• Niemann-Pick C1 is entry factor for HCV (Nature Med)
• Ebola virus entry requires Niemann-Pick C1 (Nature one, two)
• Nectin-4 is measles virus epithelial receptor (Nature, PLoS Pathogens)
• An exit strategy for measles virus (Science)
• On this day in history
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 166

Vincent, Dickson, Rich, and Alan answer listener questions about XMRV, cytomegalovirus, latency, shingles vaccine, myxomavirus and rabbits, and more.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review ten compelling virology stories of 2011.

Vincent, Dickson, Rich, and Alan review the 100 year old finding by Peyton Rous of a transmissible sarcoma of chickens, a discovery that ushered in the era of tumor virology.

Vincent, Rich, and Alan continue Virology 101 with a discussion of transcription, the process of making mRNA from a DNA template.

Vincent, Rich, Alan and Gabriel review the production of antibodies by B cells, and how high affinity antibodies are selected in the germinal centers of lymph nodes.

The TWiV team speaks with Patrick Moore about his discovery, with Yuan Chang, of two human tumor viruses, Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus and Merkel cell polyomavirus.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review concern over an influenza H5N1 transmission experiment, and a new host defense protein against RNA viruses.

Vincent and Rich visit the Microbiology and Immunology Department at the University of Michigan Medical School, and speak with Alice and Kathy about their work on HIV genome dimerization, and packaging and pathogenesis of mouse adenovirus.

A large TWiV panel remembers Ralph Steinman, and considers a new innate sensor of retroviral capsids.

Vincent, Rich, and Dickson review a meta-analysis on influenza vaccine, a killer virus in fungi that selects against RNAi, and the use of armed and targeted poxviruses for oncolytic virotherapy.

Vincent, Grant, Eurico, Paulo, Francisco and Janice discuss their work on bocavirus, infectious bronchitis virus, begamoviruses, and circoviruses at the Brazilian Virology Society meeting in Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich are very enthusiastic about two studies that show how gut bacteria help viral invaders.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review an outbreak of rabies in arctic foxes and reindeer in Norway, and a prion that makes you go antiviral.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich cover the virome of raw sewage, and a baculovirus gene that causes caterpillars to climb to their doom.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review questions and comments from TWiV listeners.

Vincent, Dickson, and Rich meant to do an all-email episode, but first they review results of the Blood XMRV Scientific Research Working Group, and partial retraction of the paper associating XMRV with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Vincent, Rich, Mark, and Trine discuss science and medicine in journalism and the eradication of poliovirus at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

Vincent, Philip, David, and Priscilla recorded this episode before an audience at the Harvard Virology Program Annual Retreat, where they discussed negative strand RNA viruses, a vaccine against herpes simplex virus type 2, lipidomics of viral infection, and science communication. 

The complete TWiV gang discusses the use of Wolbachia to control mosquito-borne infections.

Vincent, Rich, and Abbie review a broad spectrum antiviral protein, and selective pressure applied by a failed HIV-1 vaccine.

Alan and Rich tackle the discovery of bacteriophages, and treating influenza by calming the cytokine storm.

Vincent, Rich, and Alan discuss live blogging of scientific meetings, the current outbreak of Hendra virus is Australia, and using zinc finger nucleases to make HIV-resistant CD4 cells.

Vincent, Rich, Julie and Stacey recorded TWiV at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology in Minneapolis, where they discussed the role of neutralizing antibodies in protection against HIV-1 infection, and astroviruses, agents of gastroenteritis.

Vincent, Rich, and Alan discuss a method for identifying viruses of individual environmental bacteria, and the using a picornavirus for oncotherapy.

Matt Evans joins Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich to deconstruct a mouse model for hepatitis C virus infection.

Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Judy Lieberman review the use of CD4 aptamer-siRNA chimeras to inhibit HIV transmission.

Vincent, Alan, and Dickson discuss the reduction in genome size of Mimivirus upon passage in amoeba, and analysis of the microbiome of honeybees.

Vincent meets up with Raul Andino in San Francisco to discuss the RNAi-based antiviral defense system of Drosophila, the fruit fly, and how it is antagonized by viruses.

The TWiV team speaks with Amit Kapoor and Ian Lipkin about how they discovered canine hepacivirus, and its implications for the origin and evolution of hepatitis C virus.

Retrovirologist Stephen Goff joins Vincent, Rich, and Alan for a discussion of recent papers on the retrovirus XMRV and its association with chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer.

Vincent and guests Rachel Katzenellenbogen, Roger Hendrix, and Harmit Malik recorded TWiV #135 live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, where they discussed transformation and oncogenesis by human papillomaviruses, the amazing collection of bacteriophages on the planet, and the evolution of genetic conflict between virus and host.

Vincent, Rich, Alan, and Dickson review noroviruses with Stephanie Karst, PhD.

Vincent, Rich, Alan, and Dickson discuss the cellular reservoir of HIV-1 with Kathleen Collins, MD, PhD.

Vincent, Rich, Alan, and Dickson speak with Alfred Sacchetti, MD, Chief of Emergency Services at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, about viral infections encountered in the emergency room.

Vincent, Alan, and Dickson chat with Brad Thompson, CEO of Oncolytics Biotech, about using reovirus to treat cancer.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss growth in culture of newly identified rhinovirus C, vaccinia transmission among wrestlers and martial artists, and results of phase III clinical trial of boceprevir, a new inhibitor of hepatitis C virus replication.

Vincent, Alan, Dickson and Rich answer listener questions about XMRV, yellow fever vaccine, virus-like particles, West Nile virus, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and human endogenous retroviruses, multiplicity of infection, and how to make a poxvirus.

Vincent, Alan, Dickson and Welkin review how a virus regulates the severity of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, virophage control of antarctic algal host-virus dynamics, and human metapneumovirus infection in gorillas.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich explore a novel bunyavirus isolated in China, the recent polio outbreak in Republic of the Congo, and cell to cell transmission of a retrovirus by biofilm-like extracellular assemblies.

Virologist Michelle Ozbun and the TWiV team review the biology of human papillomaviruses.

This Week in Virology and Futures in Biotech join together in a science mashup to talk about a virophage at the origin of DNA transposons, and unintended spread of a recombinant retrovirus.

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, Rich, and Grant discuss a tanapoxvirus protein that inhibits tumor necrosis factor, purging tumors with myxoma virus, and destruction of the last known stocks of smallpox virus.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich talk about XMRV integration sites in prostate tumor DNA, the decline effect and scientific method, and the first virus of Caenorhabditis nematodes.

The complete TWiV crew teams up with Welkin Johnson to explore the other AIDS epidemic, infection of monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus, and its restriction by the cellular protein TRIM5.

A conversation about careers in virology, systems biology, innate immunity, and antiviral research recorded at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Vincent, Rich, and Ed discuss the transition from academic scientist to government work, the general program of drug and vaccine development in the biodefense world and at BARDA, and career opportunities for scientists in government.

Vincent and journalist David Tuller converse about the state of science reporting by the press.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about vaccinia virus, fungal viruses, synthetic viruses, influenza vaccine, HeLa cells, multiplicity of infection, and much more.

Vincent and Rich converse with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus, about vaccines, autism, thimerosal, and a contagion of human unreason run wild.

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich review an adenovirus-based vaccine strategy against drug addiction, a field trial of RNAi to prevent Israeli acute paralysis virus infection in honeybees, and suppression of avian influenza transmission in transgenic chickens.

Vincent, Alan, Rich and Marc discuss the finding that a limited number of incoming herpesviral genomes can replicate and express in a cell, and controlling viral replication inAedes aegypti with a Wolbachia symbiont.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich revisit ten compelling virology stories of 2010.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss the retrovirus XMRV with retrovirologist Alan Rein of the National Cancer Institute.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich review the making of a virulent poxvirus by insertion of the gene encoding IL-4, and severe 2009 H1N1 influenza due to pathogenic immune complexes.

The TWiV crew meets with members of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District at Florida Gulf Coast University to discuss dengue in Florida and how to control it.

Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Dickson discuss bacteria that can utilize arsenic in place of phosphorus, the passing of Frank Fenner, polio outbreak in The Congo, solving criminal cases of HIV transmission, and classifying viruses by capsid structure.

Vincent visits Mexico City and speaks with Rosa Maria del Angel and Ana Lorena Gutiérrez about virology in Mexico, and their work on dengue and caliciviruses.

Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Saul review the evolution of HIV-1 specific recombinases, and down-regulation of a host microRNA by a viral noncoding RNA.

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about poliovirus, social media, dengue, influenza, evolution, gel filtration, and much more.

Vincent, Dickson, and Rich continue Virology 101 with a second installment of their discussion of how viruses with DNA genomes replicate their genetic information.

Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich review eradication of rinderpest, endogenous hepatitis B virus in the zebra finch genome, and identification of the cell receptor for an extinct retrovirus.

The entire TWiV family reviews the latest ideas about colony collapse disorder of honeybees, and resurgence of monkeypox in Africa.

Vincent and Alan discuss influenza vaccines with LJ Tan of the American Medical Association.

A conversation about the RNA sensor RIG-I, adenovirus gene therapy, a universal influenza vaccine, and rabies virus, recorded in Munich, Germany at the SFB455 symposium ‘Viral offense and immune defense’.

Vincent, Alan, Rich, Dickson, and Hamish review the three-dimensional structure of adenovirus, and the role of adenovirus type 36 in obesity.

Vincent, Alan, and Rich celebrate the 100th episode of TWiV by talking about viruses with Nobel Laureate David Baltimore.

On episode #99 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent tours the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), speaking with exhibitors and visitors, including Professors Derek Smith, Michael Schmidt, Frederick Hayden, and Myra McClure.

Host links Vincent Racaniello

Links for this episode:

• 50th ICAAC
• ICAAC daily press conference videos (including Prof. Myra McClure)
• Antigenic cartography
• Antimicrobial properties of copper

On episode #98 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich review the finding of murine leukemia virus-related sequences in the blood of CFS patients and healthy donors, laboratory inventories for wild poliovirus containment, weaving high-performance viral batteries into fabric for the military, and a case of human rabies in Indiana.

On episode #97 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent visited Peter Sarnow and Bert Semler during a trip to California, and spoke with them about their work on internal ribosome entry, and the requirement for a cellular microRNA for hepatitis C virus replication.

On episode #96 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Rich continue Virology 101 with a discussion of how viruses with DNA genomes replicate their genetic information.

On episode #95 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich consider the end of the influenza H1N1 pandemic, dengue in Florida, vaccinia virus infection in Brazilian monkeys, and viruses in the faecal microbiota.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• WHO declares end of influenza H1N1 pandemic
• CDC's FluView
• WHO global monitoring of influenza
• Locally acquired dengue in Key West, Florida (MMWR)
• CDC page on dengue
• Vaccinia virus infection in monkeys of the Brazilian Amazon
• Dam site where animals were collected for vaccinia study (Google maps)
• Rich's article: Whence feral vaccinia?
• Viruses in the faecal microbiota of monozygotic twins and their Mothers (Nature)
• New Yorker article The Treatment (thanks, Jim!)
• Letters read on TWiV 95

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Families Fighting Flu
Rich - Food, Inc.
Dickson -  Fuel
Vincent - MIT Open Courseware
Michael -  Waiting for Superman and Can Science Feed the World? (Nature)

On episode #94 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich speak with Ila Singh about the new human retrovirus XMRV, and how her laboratory is studying its association with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Ila Singh

Links for this episode:

• CFIDS Association of America
• Discovery of XMRV (PLoS Pathogens)
• Detection of XMRV in CFS patients (Science)
• Presence of XMRV in malignant prostate (PNAS)
• Inhibition of XMRV by raltegravir (PLoS One)
• Letters read on TWiV 94

Weekly science picks:

Alan - The new Federal Register site (see also regulations.gov)
Rich - The Florida Museum of Nautural History Butterfly Rainforest
Vincent - JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments

On episode #93 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about lab procedures, prokaryotes, endogenous retroviruses, the iPad and teaching, prions, mimivirus, splitting water with viruses, and the polio outbreak in Tajikistan.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
• SIGA responds to BARDA request for smallpox antiviral
• BARDA contract for filovirus vaccine
• What is a Ph.D? (pdf)
• HHMI resources for early career scientists
• Pace article on abandoning prokaryote (Nature)
• Three domains of life (Forterre article)
• Mechanoenzymatic cleavage of Von Willebrand's factor (Science)
• Splitting water with viruses
• WHO coverage on Tajikstan polio outbreak
• Wild type polio infection in immunized Indian children (JID)
• Letters read on TWiV 93

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Southern Fried Science
Rich - Tree of Life web project
Vincent - Dickson Despommier at Big Think

Vincent, Rich, Karla, and Marilyn recorded TWiV at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology in Bozeman, where they discussed plant viruses and how they make plants resistant to adverse conditions, and identification of dominant negative drug targets.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Karla Kirkegaard, and Marilyn Roosinck

Links for this episode:

• Lifestyles of plant viruses
• Using pyrosequencing to understand virus ecology
• A virus in a fungus in a plant
• Trans-dominant inhibition of RNA viral replication
• Resistance is futile
• Announcement of TWiV at ASV (pdf)
• Photographs of TWiV at ASV
• Letters read on TWiV 92

Weekly science picks:

Marilyn - Viruses in the faecal microbiota of monozygotic twins and their mothers (Nature)
Rich - The Known Universe by the American Museum of Natural History
Vincent - The Red Queen by Matt Ridley (thanks, Jesper!)

On episode #91 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, Rich and Welkin discuss the nature, origin, and evolution of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), and the recent finding of endogenous filovirus genomes in mammals.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Welkin Johnson

Links for this episode:

• Welkin blogs at Small Things Considered
• Constructing primate phylogenies from ancient retrovirus sequences (PNAS)
• Filoviruses are ancient and integrated into mammalian genomes (BMC Evol Biol)
• Synthetic cells: Momentous breakthrough or ethical morass? (To The Point)
• Creation of a bacterial cell (Science)
• Comments on the synthetic cell (Small Things Considered)
• TWiV rap: T-Number Index by G-Unit (mp3) and Vincent (mp3) (thanks, Darrick and Scott!)
• Letters read on TWiV 91

Weekly science picks:

Welkin - Advice for a Young Investigator by Santiago Ramon y Cajal
Rich - How microbes define and defend us
Dickson - H1N1 virus lacks 1918 virus killer protein
Alan - The Xtal Set Society
Vincent - Antibodies and the quest for an AIDS vaccine

On episode #90 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich and Eric discuss identification of viruses in Northeastern American bats, vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with a military vaccinee, and identification of a new flavivirus from an Old World bat in Bangladesh.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Eric F. Donaldson

Links for this episode:

• Vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with vaccinee
• Smallpox vaccination overview
• Smallpox vaccine lesions (jpg)
• Smallpox hospital, Roosevelt Island, NY (photo 1, photo 2)
• Isolation of a flavivirus from bats in Bangladesh (PLoS Pathogens)
• Review on hepatitis G virus
• Dickson has been teaching at Singularity University and fishing in Bozeman MT (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 90

Weekly science picks:

Eric - Year of Darwin by Sean Carroll
Rich - March of the Penguins
Alan - Standing-height desks
Vincent - DengueWatch (thanks Richard!)

On episode #89 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Alan review recent findings on the association of the retrovirus XMRV with ME/CFS, reassortment of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in swine, and where influenza viruses travel in the off-season.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Alan Dove

Links for this episode:

• Conflicting XMRV papers on hold
• Leak of PNAS paper
• CDC study on XMRV in CFS patients (Retrovirology) and Science update
• Where influenza viruses travel in the off season (EurekaAlert! and PLoS Pathogens)
• NPR article on Ebola siRNA treatment (thanks, Andreas!)
• Priming mechanism for reovirus entry (thanks, Agyeman-Badu!)
• Wired article on science PR (thanks, Dan!)
• Letters read on TWiV 89

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Tree of Life graphic
Vincent - TEDx Oil Spill

On episode #88 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Marc discuss using a virus for beetle control, RNA based gene therapy for AIDS, and reconstitution of a endogenous human retrovirus.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier

Links for this episode:

• Controlling the palm rhinoceros beetle with a virus
• The virologist in the Hawaiian shirt
• Information on Orcytes rhinocerus nudivirus (one, two, three)
• RNA based gene therapy for AIDS
• Reconstitution of an infectious human retrovirus (PLoS Pathogens)
• Letters read on TWiV 88

Weekly science picks:

Marc - Apple iPad as a tool for writing, with Papers, Pages, and GoodReader
Alan - The Bacterium and the Bacteriophage
Vincent - Naturally Obsessed (thanks, Sharon!)

On episode #87 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich hear from Professor Graham Hatfull how students in the Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) program learn about scientific inquiry by doing research on bacteriophages.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Alan Dove, and Graham Hatfull

Links for this episode:

• Bacteriophage Research: Gateway to learning science
• Mycobacterium smegmatis at NCBI
• Prof. Steve Cresawn
• Scientist infected with computer virus (thanks, Jason!)
• The Invisible ABCs
• Letters read on TWiV 87

Weekly science picks:

Rich - CDC Public Health Image Library
Vincent - March of the Microbes by John L. Ingraham
Alan – Great Microbiologists – A Lego Movie
Graham – Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas by Forest Rohwer

On episode #86 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich travel to the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco to speak with Eric Delwart about his work on virus discovery.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Eric Delwart

Links for this episode:

• List of Dr. Delwart's open-access journal articles (pdf) - to find each one, type PMID # into PubMed
• CDC says don't give rotavirus vaccines to infants with SCID
• The Brighton Collaboration
• Product sheet for RotaTeq (pdf - thanks, Sheldon!)
• Letters read on TWiV 86

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Google Crisis Response - Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Vincent - HHMI resources for teachers and students (thanks, Jim!)
Eric - Vaccine by Arthur Allen

On episode #85 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Michael Gale discuss the origin, pathogenesis, prevention, of hepatitis C virus, and how it evades innate immune responses.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Michael Gale

Links for this episode:

• The Gale Laboratory at the University of Washington
• Incredible view from the Gale laboratory (jpg)
• Evasion and disruption of innate immune signalling by hepatitis C and West Nile viruses (review)
• New potent HCV inhibitor
• HCV virion and genome structures at ViralZone

On episode #84 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich spoke with Dave Bloom and Grant McFadden about their work on herpesviruses and poxviruses in this episode recorded before an audience at the University of Florida, Gainesville - home of the Gators.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Dave Bloom, and Grant McFadden

Links for this episode:

• Epigenetic modulation of herpes simplex virus gene expression (thanks, Matthew!)
• The Red Queen and Tierra virtual environment: article one, two, three (thanks, Jesper!)
• Hand-held HIV detector (thanks, Jim!)
• Anti-angiogenic cancer therapy combined with oncolytic virotherapy (thanks, Bill!)
• TWiV at UF Gainesville (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 84

Weekly science picks:

Rich - Charles F. Littlewood photographs
Vincent - Not so humble pie (thanks, Sophie!)
Grant - The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo
David - Is Parkinson's Disease a prion disorder?

On episode #83 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and special guest Dr. Kirsten Sanford talk about her career in science media, then consider whether smallpox eradication led to the AIDS pandemic, high fidelity RNA synthesis, and a new Ebola virus vaccine.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kirsten Sanford

Links for this episode:

• Does smallpox vaccine protect against HIV? (thanks, Srinivas; Washington Post and BMC Immunology)
• Was the deltaCRR5 mutation fixed in the human population by smallpox?
• A proofreader in the SARS coronavirus genome
• New ebola vaccine protects monkeys
• House of Numbers trailer, website, Wikipedia article (thanks, Levi!)
• Letters read on TWiV 83

Weekly science picks:

Alan - Evernote
Rich - The Knife Man by Wendy Moore
Vincent - The Pump Handle

On episode #82 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich talk about how thymic selection of T cells might lead to better control of HIV-1 infection, and a mouse model for severe antibody-induced dengue virus disease.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Effect of thymic selection of T-cells on control of AIDS
• Mouse model of antibody-induced severe dengue virus disease
• Natural antibody protects against viral infection
• Kary Mullis idea for fighting infections (thanks, Erik!)
• 40 nm resolution of fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (thanks, José)
• Letters read on TWiV 82

Weekly science picks:

Rich The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax
Vincent Proteopedia (thanks, Erik!)

On episode #81 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Rich answer listener questions on viruses and gluten allergy, RNA silencing, influenza virus, herpes simplex virus, HIV/AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, manicure salons, and the koala tea of Marseilles.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Virus infections and gluten intolerance on TWiS (thanks Jesper!)
• Viral small RNAs in PLoS Pathogens (thanks Jason!)
• Canadian Summit Awards (thanks Jim!)
• Experimenting with phage at home (thanks Richard!)
• CRISPR discovered by a dairy company (thanks Joel!)
• Expedition to New Guinea to sample bird viruses - movie and blog entry (thanks Henrik!)
• Preventing herpes with arginine and lysine - pdf (thanks Anthony!)
• Chronic fatigue donors face rejection (thanks James!)
• The Koala tea of Marseilles is not strained (thanks Stephen!)
• The other Larson virus cartoon (jpg)
• Letters read on TWiV 81

Weekly science picks:

Rich Google Chrome browser 'speed test' (and how it was made)
Vincent Inside the Outbreaks by Mark Pendergrast

On episode #80 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich speak with Michael Bouchard about hepatitis B virus discovery, replication, and pathogenesis.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Michael Bouchard

Links for this episode:

• The enigmatic X gene of hepatitis B virus
• Tableau public (thanks Ricardo!)
• Molecular phylogeny of Archaea from soil (thanks Etienne!)
• Habitats of Archaea (thanks Cedric!)
• Timer remote controls (thanks Bill!)
• Letters read in episode 80

Weekly science picks:

Rich PBS Frontline: The Vaccine War
Alan Readability
Vincent Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle

On episode #79 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Alan converse about making published science accessible to everyone, global eradication of poliomyelitis, and whether a plant virus can cause disease in humans.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Alan Dove

Links for this episode:

• Making published science accessible to everyone (Nature News)
• Federal Research Public Access Act
• Is disease eradication a waste of money?
• Do we have an ethical obligation to eradicate polio?
• Signs of progress in polio eradication (NY Times)
• Polio eradication: Harder than it looks (Fortner)
• Gates rethinks his war on polio (WSJ)
• Asymptomatic wild-type poliovirus infection in immune children (J Inf Dis)
• Can a plant virus cause disease in humans? (PLoS One)
• Replication of tomato spotted wilt virus in HeLa cells (PNAS)
• Glycine detected in comet (thanks Vincent!)
• Letters read on TWiV 79

Weekly science picks:

Alan Data.gov
Vincent foldit

On episode #78 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Dickson, and Rich talk about treating arthritis with a tanapox virus protein, Darwinian evolution of prions in cell culture, and the connection between cold weather fronts and outbreaks of avian H5N1 influenza in Europe.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Treating arthritis with a tanapox virus protein that antagonizes TNF (press release and research article)
• Darwinian evolution of prions in cell culture (abstract)
• Simple diagram of prion propagation (Wikipedia)
• Thoughts on the pursuit of success in science by Charles Weissmann
• Cold fronts linked to European H5N1 outbreaks (PLoS Pathogens)
• Simon Singh's website and letter of support (thanks, Mary!)
• The importance of stupidity in scientific research (thanks, Mary!)
• Sustainable energy - without the hot air (thanks, Bernhard!)
• World Community Grid (thanks Dave!)
• Pre-order The Vertical Farm by Dickson Despommier
• Letters read on TWiV 78

Weekly science picks:

Dickson Medical News Today: Infectious Diseases and Eaarth by Bill McKibben
Rich U can with Beakman and Jax by Jok Church
Alan UnderwaterTimes
Vincent The Reef Tank

On episode #77 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich revisit circovirus contamination of Rotarix, then discuss poxvirus-like replication of mimivirus in the cell cytoplasm, and whether seasonal influenza immunization increases the risk of infection with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Contamination of Rotarix vaccine with porcine circovirus 1 DNA
• Do you want to know what is in your vaccines? Take the poll
• Mimivirus replicates in the cell cytoplasm like poxviruses
• mRNA capping and virus evolution
• Association between the 2008-09 seasonal influenza vaccine and pandemic H1N1 illness (commentary)
• Doane paper goes viral
• Energetics of genome ejection from bacteriophage (thanks Gary!)
• Five strategies for behavioral adaptation to pathogens and parasites (excerpt; thanks Wladimir!)
• Letters read on TWiV 77

Weekly science picks:

Rich The Way We Work by David Macaulay
Alan DimDim
Vincent Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky

On episode #76 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent speaks with Stephen Goff about the origin of the retrovirus XMRV and its association with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Stephen Goff

Links for this episode:

• Discovery of XMRV in prostate tumors
• Association of XMRV with chronic fatigue syndrome
• Enhanced infection of prostate cells by XMRV
• XMRV and xenotransplantation

On episode #75 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Matt review contamination of Rotarix with circovirus DNA, antigenic similarity between 1918 and 2009 H1N1 influenza, a collection of rabies reports, and chicken pox mistaken for smallpox in Uganda.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Matthew Frieman

Links for this episode:

• Contamination of Rotarix vaccine with porcine circovirus 1 DNA
• Beak and feather disease circovirus (BFDV) threatens parrots
• Antigenic similarity between 1918 and 2009 H1N1 influenza
• Presumptive abortive human rabies in Texas
• Rabies rampant: feline, immunization change, Indonesia, wolf, Texas bat, US equine (thanks, Lenn!)
• Austin free tailed bats emerging at dusk
• Suspected smallpox in Uganda
• T-cell receptor therapy for AIDS (thanks Dorian!)

Weekly science picks:

Matt Bitesize Bio
Alan Free printable graph paper (see also doane paper)
Vincent Avian Flu Diary

On episode #74 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent speaks with Adolfo Garcia-Sastre about the origin, pathogenesis, and prevention of the 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 virus.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Adolfo Garcia-Sastre

Links for this episode:

• Influenza virus receptor specificity and disease
• PB1-F2 expression by 2009 H1N1 strain does not increase virulence
• Protection against 2009 H1N1 infection by immunization with older strains
• Passage in eggs changes influenza receptor specificity
• Association between D222G mutation and virulence

On episode #73 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Rich discuss multipotent progenitor bone marrow cells as a reservoir of HIV-1, integration of HHV-6 into telomeres, and dispersal of West Nile virus across the US by mosquitoes.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• HIV-1 infects multipotent progenitor cells
• HHV-6 genome integrates into telomeres
• A role for mosquito-mediated dispersal of West Nile virus across the US
• Using tobacco mosaic virus to produce synthetic photovoltaic cells (thanks Nissin!)
• Animation of HIV replication cycle (thanks Ilya!)
• Can computer viruses evolve? (thanks Norman!)
• Mumps outbreak in Israel (one and two) (thanks Ariel!)
• Bocavirus infections in children (thanks Tyler!)

Weekly science picks:

Dickson Whole-Genome Sequencing in a Patient with Charcot–Marie–Tooth Neuropathy (NEJM and NY Times)
Rich Invisible Frontiers: The Race to Synthesize a Human Gene by Stephen Hall
Vincent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections - videocasts

On episode #72 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan and Rich explain CRISPR/Cas, the immune system of bacteria and archaea, how novel viruses are discovered by deep sequencing of small RNAs, and the relationship between dry weather and outbreaks of West Nile virus infection.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Review on the CRISPR/cas system of bacteria and archaea
• Virus discovery by sequencing small virus-derived RNAs (paper one and two)
• Dry weather induces outbreaks of West Nile virus infection (paper and comment form)
• Vaccine needle size matters
• Participate in the Personal Genome Project

Weekly science picks:

Dickson Scientist as Chef by Dickson Despommier (pdf)
Alan Networked Organisms and Habitats (NOAH) iPhone app
Rich Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
Vincent The Dish

On episode #71 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan and Rich answer listener questions about maternal infection and fetal injury, viral gene therapy, eyeglasses and influenza, filtering prions from blood, eradication of rinderpest, Tamiflu resistance of H1N1 influenza, bacteriophages and the human microbiome, H1N1 vaccine recalls, human tumor viruses, RNA interference, and junk DNA.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Maternal infection and fetal neurological injury
• Filtering prions from blood (prion capture technology)
• Eradication of rinderpest (Merck veterinary manual)
• Podcasts from Life in the Universe course
• Immune Attack video game
• H1N1 review article and Holmes on genetic hijacking
• Podcast on Merck vaccines
• Ft. Lee NJ snowed in (jpg)

Weekly science picks:

Dickson and Alan NSF/AAAS Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge
Rich Foundation by Issac Asimov
Vincent Natural Obsessions by Natalie Angier

On episode #70 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Alan consider a broad spectrum antiviral against enveloped viruses, how a plant virus induces chemical signals in the host to maximize its spread, a new way to preserve viral vaccines at tropical temperatures, and the continuing story of XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Alan Dove

Links for this episode:

• Broad spectrum antiviral against enveloped viruses
• Chemical signals induced by a plant virus attract insect vectors to inferior hosts
• New vaccine technology to make viral vaccines stable at tropical temperatures
• Second UK study fails to find XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome patients (pdf)
• Nature podcast with Simon Singh and petition (thanks André!)
• Letter on Wolbachia and bees (thanks Tom!)
• Dickson fishing in Argentina (jpg)

Weekly science picks:

Dickson Chemical Ecology - edited by Thomas Eisner and Jerrold Meinwald
Alan Scripps Center for Mass Spectrometry
Vincent Folding@home (thanks Jesper!)

On episode #69 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich review recent outbreaks of mumps in the UK, US, and Israel, protection of mice against 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus by 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 vaccines, and a virus-like particle vaccine for chikungunya virus.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Mumps outbreak in Israel (ProMedMail and Eurosurveillance; thanks Lenn!) and Iowa
• Retraction of Wakefield vaccines- autism study
• Immunization with 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 influenza viruses protects against 2009 H1N1 strain
• Virus-like particle vaccine for chikungunya virus
• Image: antigenic differences in HA structures of 1918, Cal/09 and Bris/59/07 viruses
• Paul Ewald articles (thanks Atila!): one, two, and three, and a recent review of the hypothesis

Weekly science picks:

Rich John Moran Florida Nature Photography
Alan Periodic Table of Videos
Vincent The Protein Databank Educational Resources

On episode #68 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich are enthralled by movies of vaccinia virus plaque formation, then consider how repulsion of superinfection virions leads to rapid virus spread, and a therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• Rapid virus spread by repulsion of superinfection virions
• Movie of vaccinia virus plaque formation (.mov)
• Movie of GFP-vaccinia virus plaque formation (.mov)
• More amazing vaccinia virus movies
• Prostate cancer vaccine (Reuters article, original research)

Weekly science picks:

Rich Foundations of Virology - PowerPoint by Frederick A. Murphy (bio/interview pdf)
Alan Spoonful of Medicine - Nature Medicine blog
Vincent The Feynman Lectures (thanks Ilya!)

On episode #67 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Marc Pelletier talk about chronic wasting disease of deer caused by prions, blocking the semen-derived enhancer of HIV infection with surfen, and making green transgenic rabbits using a lentiviral vector.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Marc Pelletier

Links for this episode:

• Chronic wasting disease in West Virginia
• Chronic wasting disease alliance and CDC webpage
• Semen-derived inhibitor of viral infection (SEVI)
• Surfen inhibits the action of SEVI
• Making green transgenic rabbits using simian immunodeficiency virus vector
• Science comedy (thanks Lucky Fractal!)

Weekly science picks:

Marc Association of Science-Technology Centers Passport Program
Alan Zooniverse
Vincent Grand Rounds at the Mailman School of Public Health

On episode #66 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Dickson continue virology 101 with a discussion of information flow from RNA to DNA, a process known as reverse transcription, which occurs in cells infected with retroviruses, hepatitis B virus, cauliflower mosaic virus, foamy viruses, and even in uninfected cells.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Links for this episode:

• Discovery of RNA tumor viruses
• Reverse transcriptase found by Temin and Baltimore (pdfs)
• Figures for this episode

On episode #65 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Matthew Frieman Vincent, Alan, and Matt discuss a project to study the RNA virome of Northeastern American bats, failure to detect XMRV in UK chronic fatigue syndrome patients, and DNA of bornavirus, an RNA virus, in mammalian genomes.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Matthew Frieman

Links for this episode:

• Mist net Indigo Tunnel, Western Maryland Railway (jpg)
• Eric Donaldson and Amy Haskew with bat in holding bag (jpg)
• XMRV not detected in UK chronic fatigue syndrome patients (virology blog)
• Bornavirus DNA in the mammalian genome
• Arenavirus DNA can be integrated into the cell genome
• Rabid raccoons in Central Park, NYC

On episode #64 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss ten compelling virology stories of 2009.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Ten virology stories of 2009:

1. Pandemic influenza: Swine-origin H1N1 virus (TWiV 36)
2. XMRV, prostate cancer, and chronic fatigue syndrome (TWiV 50, 55)
3. AIDS vaccine 'success' (TWiV 51)
4. Colony collapse disorder (TWiV 46, 49)
5. AIDS-like disease in wild chimps (TWiV 45)
6. Diverse viral community in Antarctic lake (TWiV 58)
7. Polyomavirus seroepidemiology in humans (TWiV 26)
8. Poxvirus threatens UK red squirrels (TWiV 63)
9. Polio spreads from Nigeria (TWiV 29)
10. How mosquitoes survive Dengue virus infection (TWiV 21)

Picture book on viruses for kids (Thanks Soraia!)

On episode #63 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich talk about US government contract for freeze-dried smallpox vaccine, red squirrels in the UK threatened by poxvirus, and Marseillevirus, another DNA virus from amoebae built for comfort and speed.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• US Government awards contract to Bavarian Nordic for freeze-dried smallpox vaccine (pdf and clinical trial)
• UK red squirrels threatened by poxvirus: news article one and two,epidemiologyand experimental infection
• Another huge virus from amoebae (Wired article, PNASarticle, review article)
• Discussion on rabies bait vaccine at virology blog, and status of the program
• Viral diseases of humans (pdf)

On episode #62 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Alan discuss STEP HIV-1 vaccine failure caused by the adenovirus vector, presence of West Nile virus in kidneys for years after initial infection, adaptation of the influenza viral RNA polymerase for replication in human cells, and the significance of the D225G change in the influenza HA protein.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Alan Dove

Links for this episode:

On episode 61 of the podcast "This Week in Virology", Vincent and Dick muse about the symbiotic bacterium,Wolbachia, that protects flies from viral infection, the origin of 2009 influenza H1N1 virus, and the lure of original antigenic sin.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Links for this episode:

Vincent and Dickson continue Virology 101 with a discussion of how RNA viruses produce mRNA and replicate their genomes.

Host links Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier

Links for this episode:

• Diagrams of viral RNA synthesis
• Animations of influenza virus and HIV-1 replication

A TWiV panel of five considers the finding of Streptococcus pneumoniae in fatal H1N1 cases in Argentina, hysteria in the Ukraine over pandemic influenza, and human vaccinia infection after contact with a raccoon rabies vaccine bait.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Gustavo Palacios, and Mady Hornig

Links for this episode:

• Argentine flu death mystery
• H1N1 influenza outbreak in Ukraine (article one and two, and WHO statement)
• Human vaccinia infection after contact with rabies vaccine bait
• Agrippal S1 inactivated H1N1 vaccine (pdf - thanks Ariel and Ayelet)
• Nick's letter on are viruses and life
• Take the poll: are viruses alive?

Vincent, Dick, and Alan are joined by emergency medicine physician Dr. Joshua Stillman to talk about passive antibody therapy for Nipah infection in ferrets, annual influenza immunization of children, facemasks to prevent influenza, predicting dengue outbreaks by the weather, and the amazing viral communities in an icy Antarctic lake.

Host links Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Joshua Stillman

Links for this episode:

• Post-exposure passive antibody therapy for Nipah virus in ferret
• Image above left shows Nipah viral antigen (red) in ferret brain ependymal epithelium
• Is yearly influenza vaccination of children a bad idea?
• Debate on N95 masks vs surgical masks to prevent influenza
• Weather patterns help predict dengue outbreaks
• Diverse viral community in Antarctica's icy lakes (thanks Russ!)
• Tamiflu in Japanese river waters (see TWiV 40 - thanks Russ!)
• Chlorine dioxide gas removes influenza virus (thanks André!)

Vincent visits Scotch Plains – Fanwood High School and talks about viruses with high school biology students.

Host links: Vincent Racaniello

Links for this episode:

• Vincent’s presentation (pdf)
• Thank you letters
• Oncolytic reovirus
• Does rhinovirus interfere with influenza?

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Cliff answer questions from listeners on swine influenza origins, transmission, virulence, and vaccines, HIV and AIDS, and more.

Host links: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Cliff Mintz

Links for this episode:

• Physicists propose 'Schrödinger's Virus' experiment (thanks Duncan)
• Nanoparticle adjuvant (ScienceDaily and Journal of Controlled Release - thanks Jim)
• Hand washing won't stop H1N1 at Newsweek (thanks Jim)
• Newsweek's virus quiz
• TWiV timeline (download .m4v file - thanks Ricardo)
• Sanjay Gupta's H1N1 experience (thanks Lenn)
• Swine flu vaccine fear mongering at eSkeptic (thanks Jesper)
• Flu transmission and humidity (letter from Joe)

Weekly Science Picks

Dick 27" iMac and Powers of Ten by Philip Morrison and Phyllis Morrison
Alan ImageMagick
Cliff ePatient Connections 2009
Vincent Cell size and scale

The largest TWiV panel ever assembled takes on XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, 2009 chemistry Nobel prizes for ribosome structure, finding new poxvirus vaccine candidates, a brouhaha over leaked Canadian data on flu susceptibility, and transmission of H1N1 influenza to a pet ferret.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, Jason Rodriguez, and Rich Condit

Links for this episode:

• XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome
• XMRV not found in German prostate cancer
• 2009 Chemistry Nobel Prize for ribosome structure
• New poxvirus vaccines (e! Science and Virology articles - thanks Jim!)
• Seasonal flu shots and susceptibility to 2009 H1N1 (one, two, and three)
• Pet ferret gets H1N1 influenza from owner

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Nikon photomicroscopy contest winners at SciAm (Dick's article on vertical farming)
Alan Make:
Rich BBC's Planet Earth (DVD at Amazon)
Jason The Collider, the Particle and a Theory About Fate
Vincent An Epidemic of Fear and Misinformants at Wired Magazine

Vincent speaks with Lynn Enquist about his career in virology, moving from academia to industry and back. Along the way he did pioneering research on bacteriophage, participated in the birth of recombinant DNA technology, and studied herpesviruses.

Links for this episode:

• Holliday junction
• Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA
• Restriction enzymes
• Movies of herpesvirus movement in nerve cells
• The 'other' Enquist lab
• Can you find the TWiV 54 hosts in this photo?

Weekly Science Picks

Lynn Francis Crick: Hunter of Life's Secrets by Robert Olby
Vincent ViralZone

Vincent, Dick, and Alan talk about Nobel prizes for telomere research, bacteriophages that protect aphids from wasps, salicylates and pandemic influenza mortality, and hand washing.

Links for this episode:

• Bacteriophages encode toxins that protect aphids from wasps
• 14 year old dies after receiving HPV vaccine
• Salicylates and pandemic influenza mortality
• Canadian microbiologist says hand washing is not proven to prevent influenza
• Surgical mask vs N95 respirator for preventing influenza
• Americans unsure about receiving pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine
• DnaTube (thanks Jim!)
• Laboratory Director certification (pdf - thanks Megan!)
• Plant production of pharmaceuticals (pdf one and pdf two - thanks Ed!)

Weekly Science Picks

Alan scienceline
Dick Younger by Judith Sulzberger MD
Vincent FluView

Vincent and Dr. Scott Hammer talk about different types of AIDS vaccines and how they are tested in clinical trials.

Links for this episode:

• PAVE 100 trial cancelled
• HIV vaccine shows promise for the first time
• Description of the Thailand AIDS program
• NEJM review on why AIDS vaccine is difficult (pdf)
• Arguments for the AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand
• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

Vincent, Dick, and Alan (with a cameo appearance by Rich Condit) review the world’s largest Phase III study of a complex HIV vaccine candidate in Thailand, immunization of salmon against infectious salmon anemia virus, and an outbreak of blueberry shock virus in Michigan.

Links for this episode:

• HIV vaccine shows promise for the first time - description of the program, FDA background document (pdf), NEJM review on why AIDS vaccine is difficult (pdf), and arguments for the trial
• Chile immunizes salmon (USGS article on the virus, pdf)
• Blueberry virus strikes Michigan research center (information on the disease and the virus)
• Rotavirus seasonality (thanks Didier!)
• Viruses and the tree of life at virology blog
• Big brains have evolved twice (thanks Arsen!)

Weekly Science Picks

Alan Bat Rabies and Other Lyssavirus Infections
Dick Boosting Vaccines: The Power of Adjuvants (Scientific American; subscription required)
Vincent The Ig Nobel Prizes by Marc Abrahams

Vincent and Jason review influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine trials and protection against the virus conferred by the 1976 swine flu vaccine, then move on to a virus called XMRV and its possible role in prostate cancer.

Links for this episode:

• One dose of influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine without adjuvant is enough
• Partially completed study on influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine with MF59 adjuvant
• 1976 swine flu vaccine induces cross-reactive antibodies against influenza 2009 H1N1 strain
• Explanation of hemagglutination-inhibition and microneutralization assays
• FDA approves influenza 2009 H1N1 vaccine
• XMRV is present in malignant prostatic epithelium and is associated with prostate cancer
• Identification of a novel gammaretrovirus in prostate tumors
• CDC page on Guillain-Barré syndrome

Weekly Science Picks

Jason Glass Microbiology
Vincent FluWeb Influenza Historical Resources Database

Vincent and Dick continue Virology 101 with a discussion of the seven different types of viral genomes, and how to use the pathway to mRNA to understand viral replication.

Links for this episode:

• Dick talks about hookworm on Radio Lab
• Dick's video page at BigThink
• The seven types of viral genome
• Animation of HIV replication (thanks axiomatically atypical!)
• Changes in transcript abundance relating to colony collapse disorder in honey bee (thanks Judi!)

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Discovery Channel: Planet Green
Vincent Influenza videos at BigThink: one, two, three, four, five, six

Vincent, Dick, Alan and Rich revisit a vaccinia virus lab accident and viral vaccines produced in plants, then talk about an iPhone app to track infectious diseases, flying foxes, and an inhaled measles vaccine.

Links for this episode:

• Laboratory acquired vaccinia infection
• Medicago (investor presentation, pdf) and Fraunhofer produce vaccines in plants
• iPhone app Outbreaks near me
• No culling of flying foxes in Australia
• Inhaled powdered measles virus vaccine
• Herpesvirus latency confers symbiotic protection from bacterial infection (thanks Juliet!)
• Porcine circovirus vaccine
• Swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré (thanks Tom!)
• The Great Flu and blog post (thanks Swiss compass and Allison!)
• Building semiconductors with DNA (thanks Duncan!)
• Email on viral classification (thanks Rodney and Eliot!)

Weekly Science Picks

Rich Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Dick Eliot Porter at the Carter Museum and bookstore at Amazon
Alan Dr. Clarke's H1N1 rap at the HHS sponsored YouTube contest
Vincent Coast to Coast Bio Podcast

Vincent and Dick discuss influenza virus-like particle vaccines produced in insect and plant cells, rapid sharing of influenza research, and answer listener questions about cytomegalovirus, viral evolution and symbiosis and much more.

Links for this episode:

• A Farm on Every Floor
• Influenza virus-like particles in insect and plant cells
• PLoS Currents: Influenza
• Transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza virus to turkeys [Thanks Debbie!]
• Baxter produces Vero cell H1N1 vaccine [Thanks Peter!]
• Boundaries of Darwinism podcast [Thanks David!]
• Phages in human intestine: papers one, two, three [Thanks Terry!]
• Post-exposure varicella vaccine [Thanks Patricia!]
• Open science movement here, here, here, and here [Thanks Jim!]
• Graduate programs in virology [Thanks Greggory and Blake!]
• Post-exposure Marburg and Ebola vaccines [Thanks John!]
• Vaccinia infection in the laboratory [Thanks Russ!]
• Animations of bacteriophage T4 life cycle [Thanks Jim!]

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent Bionumbers
Dick Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas by Sylvia A. Earle, Linda K. Glover

Vincent and Dick continue virology 101 with a discussion of virus entry into cells, then answer reader email on colony collapse disorder and viruses that confer a benefit to their host.

Links for this episode:

• Illustrations of virus entry into cells
• Nice reference for biological items (thanks Jim!)
• Colony collapse disorder: PBS program,  descriptive study, metagenomic study, genetic analysis (thanks Swiss compass!)
• Potato virus Y and Alzheimer's disease (thanks Jennifer!)
• A virus in a fungus in a plant (thanks Jennifer!)

Weekly Science Picks

Vincent PLoS Pearls
Dick West Nile virus website at CDC

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Jennifer Drahos tackle the Hendra virus disease outbreak in Australia, AIDS-like disease in wild chimps, return of polio type 2 in Nigeria, the influenza pandemic wave, and rabies in three countries.

Links for this episode: 

• Hendra virus killing horses in Australia
• AIDS-like disease in wild chimps [ NY Times ]
• Polio type 2 returns in Nigeria
• Influenza pandemic wave [Branswell ]
• Rabies in Ukraine , South Africa , and USA
• Cell phones turned into fluorescent microscopes [Thanks, Jim!]
• HIV-1 vaccine trial in South Africa [Thanks Duncan!]
• Forum discussion on flu vaccine [Thanks James!]
• The Brain Science Podcast [Thanks Jim!]
• WHO note on H1N1 vaccine safety
• CDC information on H1N1 vaccines
• Hans Christian Orsted

Weekly Science Picks

Jennifer Art of Science 2009
Vincent Nobel Intent
Dick Diversity of Life by EO Wilson
Alan MediaWiki (install tips )

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Jennifer Drahos consider Marburg virus in Egyptian fruit bats, bacterial citrus pathogen found in shipping facility, canine parvovirus in Michigan, Relenza-resistant influenza virus, new HIV from gorillas, and public engagement on H1N1 immunization program.

Links for this episode:

• Isolation of Marburg virus from Egyptian fruit bats
•  Inspectors find bacterial citrus pathogen in California
•  Parvovirus killing hundreds of dogs in Michigan
• Relenza-resistant H1N1 identified in Australia (press and journal article)
• New HIV from gorilla
• CDC wants public comment on H1N1 vaccination
• Original antigenic sin (article 1 and article 2)
• Dr. Stanley Plotkin on Meet the Scientist (thanks Peter!)
• audioBoo (iPhone app - thanks Jim!)
• Audio clips (first and second) from the podcast No Agenda (thanks peripatetic apoplectic!)

Weekly Science Picks

Jennifer Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD Comics)
Vincent Giant Microbes (thanks Stephen!)
Dick Virology in the 21st Century
Alan Annals of the Former World by John McPhee

Vincent and Dick explain virus classification, and revisit the 1976 swine flu immunization campaign and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Links for this episode:

• International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
• CBS 60 Minutes on 1976 swine flu vaccine (thanks Gus and Swiss compass!)
• Vaccines and Guillain-Barré
• NINDS Guillain-Barré Information
• Reflections on the 1976 swine flu vaccination program
• Swine influenza outbreak at Fort Dix, 1976

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth by Lynn Margulis and Karlene V. Schwartz
Vincent A Genetic Switch by Mark Ptashne

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Delthia Ricks discuss a new influenza virus-like particle vaccine, dog flu, ultrasensitive pen-sized virus detector, imported rabies in the US, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and next season’s flu vaccines.

Hosts Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Delthia Ricks

Links for this episode:

• Trivalent virus-like particle vaccine
• Canine flu virus vaccine
• Ultrasensitive virus detector
• Rabies imported into the US
• Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Kazakhstan
• FDA approves seasonal flu vaccine for fall
• Yields of 2009 H1N1 vaccine are low
• FDA may fast-track approval of 2009 H1N1 vaccine

Weekly Science Picks

Delthia 100 questions and answers about influenza by Delthia Ricks
Alan Tinychat
Dick Mythbusters
Vincent Effect Measure

In episode 41 of "This Week in Virology", Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove and Rich Condit chat about infectious salmon anemia virus, virus-resistant grapevines, virulence of pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, origin of 1918 influenza virus, holy water ban to halt influenza, frequency of human WU and KI polyomavirus infection, rabies in China, and host species of sin nombre virus.

Links for this episode

• Wal-Mart stops buying Chile salmon on virus outbreak
• Virus-resistant grapevines
• Virulence of H1N1 pandemic influenza virus in animal models
• Did 1918 influenza virus originate in birds or not?
• Holy water ban to halt swine flu
• Frequent Human Infection with WU and KI Polyomaviruses
• Rabies in China
• Increased Host Species Diversity and Decreased Prevalence of Sin Nombre Virus
• Fast, cheap PCR for crime scenes (thanks Jim!)

Weekly Science Picks

Alan For Love of Insects by Thomas Eisner
Rich Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
Dick Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Vincent Gallileoscope (thanks Zach!)

In episode 40 of "This Week in Virology", hosts Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, and Alan Dove consider Reston ebolavirus in swine, historical perspective of H1N1 influenza virus emergence and circulation, Tamiflu-resistant H1N1, Tamiflu in Japanese river waters, transmission of H1N1 virus in ferrets, and pneumonia and respiratory failure from H1N1 in Mexico.

Links for this episode

• Reston ebolavirus in Philippine swine
• Historical perspective on H1N1 virus
• Salk's 1947 article on flu vaccine failure
• Persistent legacy of 1918 H1N1 virus
• Tamiflu resistant H1N1 virus (AP article)
• Tamiflu in Japanese river waters
• H1N1 infection of ferrets (article one and two)
• Pneumonia and respiratory failure from S-OIV in Mexico
• DNA-based equine WNV vaccine (thanks Peter!)
• Fundamentals of Molecular Virology by Nicholas Acheson

Weekly Science Picks

Alan Coming to Life by Christiane Nusslein-Volhard
Dick Monsters Inside Me from Discovery Channel
Vincent Microbeworld

In episode 39 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier discuss virus structure and answer listener questions.

Links for this episode

• Diagrams of virus structures
• Boston Globe article on Genzyme
• FDA warning letter to Genzyme (thanks Peter!)
• Public Health Reports July - December 1918 (thanks Lenn!)
• Amateur scientists working with professionals (thanks Ennio!)
• Influenza H1N1 and computer analogies (thanks swiss compass!)
• Bone marrow transplant to cure AIDS not reported (thanks Andrew!)
• Paul Offitt interview on vaccines and autism
• Mark Crislip on vaccines and autism

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Visual Explanations by Edward R. Tufte
Vincent The Youngest Science by Lewis Thomas

In episode 38 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello and Glenn Rall chat about koi herpesvirus, H1N1 influenza vaccine produced in insect cells, attack by a rabid raccoon, and measles.

Links for this episode:

• Virus suspected in carp die-off: koi herpesvirus
• H1N1 influenza vaccine produced in insect cells with baculovirus vectors
• Outbreak of measles in Wales
• Production of influenza vaccines in cell cultures: MDCK, Vero, PER.C6, EB66, insect (thanks Peter!)

 Weekly Science Picks

Glenn Riddled with Life by Marlene Zuk
Vincent All the Virology on the WWW

In episode 37 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and guest Eric Freed talk about vesivirus contamination of bioreactors, pandemic influenza, maximizing the effect of vaccination by targeting children, chikungunya virus, and open access scientific journals.

Links for this episode:

• Genzyme shuts down manufacturing of two enzyme drugs because of vesivirus contamination
• Brazilian H1N1 isolate is not novel
• WHO interactive H1N1 map
• Targeting children maximizes the effect of vaccination
• Chikungunya virus and Aedes mosquitoes
• Viruses, an open-access virology journal
• iBioSeminars
• A field study of virus removal in septic tank drainfields

Weekly Science Picks

Alan Forrest Mims (website)
Vincent The Machinery of Life by David S. Goodsell

In episode 36 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier and guest Hamish Young discuss the 2009 influenza pandemic, first 2009 H1N1 vaccine, hunting mosquitoes with midges, vaccine-associated polio in India, and adenoviruses.

Links for this episode:

• WHO calls it a pandemic
• Novartis produces test run of H1N1 vaccine
• Midge keeps invasive mosquito in check
• Two cases of vaccine-associated polio in India
• BBC interactive map of influenza cases
• Outbreak of adenovirus type 14

Weekly Science Picks

Dick The World’s Water by Peter H. Gleick
Hamish Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond; Complications by Atul Gawande
Alan Eurekalert
Vincent Respectful Insolence

In episode 35 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier and guest Richard Kessin talk about Lujo virus, a new arenavirus, influenza, WHO rewriting pandemic rules, adjuvants, and a brief history of microbiology.

Links for this episode:

• Lujo virus, a new arenavirus

• Is CDC too optimistic about influenza?

• WHO to rewrite pandemic rules

• Adjuvant at wikipedia

• Avery, MacLeod, McCarty 50th anniversary ( pdf)

Weekly Science Picks

Dick Three papers on origins of infectious diseases (one, two, three)
Rich An Imperfect Lens by Anne Roiphe
Alan Zotero, a FireFox plugin
Vincent e! Science News

In episode 34 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and guest Stephen Morse discuss progressive vaccinia in a smallpox vaccinee, arsenic and influenza in mice, facemasks and flu transmission, and antigenic and genetic analyses of the new H1N1 influenza virus.

Links for this episode:

• Progressive vaccinia in a military smallpox vaccinee
• Arsenic compromises the immune response to influenza in mice
• Facemasks prevent flu transmission in a mathematical model
• Serum cross-reactive antibody response to the new H1N1 influenza virus
• Antigenic and genetic characteristics of the new H1N1 influenza viruses
• Preparation of influenza virus vaccine seeds
• Paul Ewald on the evolution of virulence

Weekly Science Picks

• Alan Org-Mode
• Vincent Human/Swine A/H1N1 Influenza Origins and Evolution
• Stephen The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Vincent, Alan, Dick, and Raul Andino live at ASM discussed cytomegalovirus infection and blood pressure, restriction of avian influenza viral replication at low temperature, first isolation of West Nile virus in PA, and current status of influenza.

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

Links for this episode:

Cytomegalovirus infection causes an increase of arterial blood pressure
Avian influenza virus glycoproteins restrict virus replication at low temperature
First West Nile virus isolation of the year in PA
CDC press release of 18 May 2009
Glaxo's influenza vaccine with adjuvant
NY Times article on Guillain-Barré and a more scientific view

Weekly Science Picks
Dick - National Museum of the History of Science and Medicine, Leiden
Alan - Beginning Mac OS X Programming
Vincent - Vaccinated by Paul Offit
Raul - HubbleSite

In episode 32 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and guest Raul Rabadan converse about polio survivors in iron lungs, bocavirus, structure of mimivirus, and genome sequence analysis of influenza H1N1 viruses.

Links for this episode:
Death of Marsha Mason, who lived 60 years in an iron lung
First discovery of bocavirus in human stool
Structural studies of the giant mimivirus
Pandemic potential of H1N1 influenza virus
Was swine flu a lab accident? Bloomberg and NY Times articles
Hong Kong virologist says new H1N1 strain is ‘unstable’
Article by John Barry on site of origin of 1918 influenza

In episode 31 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier and guest Marc Pelletier summarize the past week’s influenza H1N1 activity, and discuss parvovirus infection of dogs and humans.

Weekly Science Picks
Marc Celestia, an application
Dick US Geological Survey website
Alan Society for Amateur Scientists website
Vincent Sneeze, an online game

On this special episode of This Week in Virology Vincent Racaniello and Dr. Peter Palese, noted influenza expert, discuss the origin and pandemic potential of the new H1N1 influenza virus.

In episode 30 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier and guest Hamish Young focus on the new H1N1 influenza virus, which originated in swine and is likely to be the next pandemic strain.

Links for this episode:

• Original CDC report of California and Texas outbreak; recent updates here
• Science interview with CDC’s Ruben Donis
• CDC webpage on US status of influenza
• WHO webpage on international status of influenza
• Learn more about the outbreak an influenza virus biology at virology blog
  

Science blog of the week: GermBlog by Dr. Harley Rotbart
Science podcast pick of the week: Science and the City
Science book of the week: The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-making on a Slippery Disease by by Richard E. Neustadt, Harvey V. Fineberg

In episode 29 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and Dick Despommier talk about insect and human dengue virus host proteins, equine vaccine for WNV and EEEV, return of swine flu to humans, spread of polio in Africa, and listener email.

Links for this episode:

• Discovery of insect and human dengue virus host proteins
• Immunize your horse with PreveNile
• Swine flu returns to California, Texas, Mexico
• Polio spreads from Nigeria to 15 African countries
• Dead Chinese woman on Russian train: no SARS or influenza
• Jenny McCarthy body count
• Ten dumbass reasons why people don’t get their flu shots

Science blog of the week: Science-based medicine
Science podcast pick of the week: WNYC’s Radio Lab
Science book of the week: Flu by Gina Kolata

In episode 28 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier, and Eric F. Donaldson discuss a new test for influenza H5N1, poliovirus in Minnesota, Koala retrovirus, batteries made from viruses, and SARS.

Links for this episode:

• New rapid test for influenza H5N1 based on PDZ binding. Definition of ELISA.
• Poliovirus isolated from Minnesotan (article 1 and 2)
• Koala retrovirus: Japan story and review article
• Batteries made from viruses (cathode and anode). Image of phage M13.
• iMoleBuilder (iTunes link and review at Sunset Lake Software)
• Discovery of Norwalk virus
• Regulatin’ Genes (YouTube link)

Science blog of the week: The Great Beyond by Nature
Science podcast pick of the week: Sorting Out Science
Science book of the week: A Slot Machine, A Broken Test Tube by S.E. Luria (out of print - check your library)

In episode 27 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dick Despommier, and Saul Silverstein revisit an ebola virus needlestick accident, and discuss the role of TLR3 in formation of Negri bodies, a New England college closed by norovirus gastroenteritis, hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreak in China, and the exit of herpes simplex virus from latency by synthesis of VP16.

Links for this episode:

• Update on ebolavirus needlestick accident
• Formation of Negri bodies depend upon TLR3
• Norovirus outbreak closes New England college
• Hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreak in China
• Synthesis of VP16 coordinates herpes simplex virus exit from latency

Science blog of the week: Biocurious
Science podcast pick of the week: NPR’s Science Friday
Science book of the week: A Conspiracy of Cells by Michael Gold
Dick’s pick: Andros Island Bonefish Club
Saul’s pick: Secret Science Club

In episode 26 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and guest Rich Condit converse about induction of polyomavirus replication in multiple sclerosis patients treated with the MS drug Tysabri, the extent of human polyomavirus infection, selection of influenza vaccines for the 2009-10 season, cowpox virus transmission from animals to humans, vaccinia-like virus infecting humans and cattle in Brasil, and poxviruses.

Links for this episode:

• JC virus, Tysabri, PML, and mefloquine at virology blog
• Seroepidemiology of polyomaviruses in human
• Next season’s influenza virus vaccines and how they are selected
• Cell-culture propagated smallpox vaccine
• Cowpox tranmission from rats to humans ( Germany and France) and from cats to humans in Italy
• Vaccinia-like virus infecting cows and humans in Brasil
• When good vaccines go wild (review)
• Mosquito Map (thanks Duncan)
• Pfeiffer & Kirkegaard paper on quasispecies and virulence in mice

Science blog of the week: Coevolvers by Devin Drown
Science podcast pick of the week: QuackCast
Science book of the week: Listen to the Music: The Life of Hilary Koprowski by Roger Vaughan

In episode 25 of This Week in Virology, hosts Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and guest Luis Villarreal discuss rabies in Viet Nam and Angola, needle-stick infections with ebola virus and West Nile virus, and viral evolution.

Links for this episode:

• Furious rabies after an atypical exposure

• Rabies outbreak in Angola

• Ebola virus needle stick injury in Germany

• West Nile virus needle stick injury in South Africa

• Antibody response to smallpox vaccine in humans (including Dr. Villarreal)

• The chemical formula for polio virus is: C332, 652H492, 388N98, 245O131, 196P7, 501S2, 340. Because poliovirus is a quasispecies, the number of atoms is a population average.

• Review article: Ten Reasons to Exclude Viruses from the Tree of Life

• Origin and Evolution of Viruses, second edition, edited by Esteban Domingo

• Origin of Group Identity by Luis Villarreal

Science blog of the week: Small Things Considered by Moselio Schaechter and Merry Youle
Science podcast pick of the week: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe
Science book of the week: Viruses and the Evolution of Life by Luis Villarreal