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

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

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV 169 (64 MB .mp3, 152 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, by email, or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.

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

Weekly Science Picks

Michael – Love my epi
Dickson – Bacteria array detects arsenic
Rich – Dunning-Kruger effect
Alan – Environmental Economics
Vincent – Don’t censor influenza research

Listener Pick of the Week

Simon – The Great Mortality by John Kelly

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.

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

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.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV 168 (59 MB .mp3, 98 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, by email, or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.

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

Weekly Science Picks

Welkin – Virtual PI (Nature)
Dickson – Drain the Ocean
Rich – Nova: To the Moon
Alan - Robert Falcon Scott on Twitter and the Terra Nova expedition
Vincent – Hello, Mr. Chips (I, Cringely)

Listener Pick of the Week

Charlotte – And the Band Played On

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.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Alan Dove

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

Please help us by taking our listener survey.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV 164 (60 MB .mp3, 99 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, by email, or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.

Ten virology stories of 2011:

1. XMRV, CFS, and prostate cancer (TWiV 119, 123, 136, 150)
2. Influenza H5N1, ferrets, and the NSABB (TWiV 159)
3. The Panic Virus (TWiV 117)
4. Polio eradication (TWiV 127, 149)
5. Viral oncotherapy (TWiV 124, 131, 142, 156)
6. Hepatitis C virus (TWiV 130, 137, 141)
7. Zinc finger nuclease and HIV therapy (TWiV 144)
8. Bacteria help viruses (TWiV 154)
9. Human papillomaviruses (TWiV 126)
10. Combating dengue with Wolbachia (TWiV 115, 147)

Links for this episode:

• Honorable mention: Color me infected (TWiV 115)
• Lo-Alter retraction (PNAS)
• Propose an ASM General Meeting session
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 164

Weekly Science Picks

Rich - Fundamentals of Molecular Virology by Nicholas H. Acheson
Alan – Fetch, with Ruff Ruffman
Vincent – Year end reviews at Rule of 6ix and Contagions

Listener Pick of the Week

Garren – Trillion-frame-per-second video
Judi – iBioMagazine
Ricardo – Brain Picking’s 11 best science books of 2011

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.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

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

Please help us by taking our listener survey.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV 159 (48 MB .mp3, 80 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, by email, or listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.

Links for this episode:

• Concern over H5N1 transmission experiment (CIDRAP)
• Information on NSABB
• Enserink’s overstated story (Science)
• New cell defense protein against RNA viruses (Nature Chem Biol)
• Uta Schwedler obituary (jpg)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 159

Weekly Science Picks

Rich – Livescribe Smartpen
Alan – Royal Society journal archive
Vincent - Chronic fatigue syndrome and the CDC by Dave Tuller

Listener Pick of the Week

Judi – Top 7 in Microbiology

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.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

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.

Click the arrow above to play, or right click to download TWiV #116 (64 MB .mp3, 89 minutes).

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email, or listen on your mobile device with Stitcher Radio.

Links for this episode:

• Cocaine analog coupled to disrupted adenovirus
• Field application of RNAi in honeybees
• Suppression of avian influenza transmission in GM chickens (EurekAlert)
• Phage tailspike protein therapy
• Use of phage lysins to treat bacterial infections (one and two)
• Cell to cell spread of viruses (review and inhibition by tetherin)
• Flock house virus replication organelle (thanks Brett!)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 116

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson – Brian Deer’s investigation of Andrew Wakefield
Rich – Photographic periodic table of the elements
Alan – Year of the bat (site one and site two)
Vincent – EteRNA (NY Times article)

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

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

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.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. Use the promotion code TWIVPOD to receive $75-$500 off a Drobo.

Win a free Drobo S! Contest rules here.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #78 (53 MB .mp3, 73 minutes)

Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by email.

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

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Eric F. Donaldson

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Eric F. Donaldson discuss a new test for influenza H5N1, poliovirus in Minnesota, Koala retrovirus, batteries made from viruses, and SARS.

Sponsor:  Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #28 (51 MB .mp3,  74 minutes)

Links for this episode:

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)

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

Subscribe to TWiV in iTunes, by the RSS feed, or by email

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, and Alan Dove

Vincent, Dick, and Alan review a new macaque model for HIV-1 infection, a possible role for Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis, accidental release of H5N1 by a vaccine company, resistance of frogs to virus infection, and extreme virology – the biggest and smallest viruses and viral genomes.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #23 (34 MB .mp3,  49 minutes)

Links for this episode:

• Harold Varmus on The Daily Show
• Macaque model for HIV-1 infection (photo of pig-tailed macaque)
• Possible role of Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis
• Accidental distribution of H5N1 influenza virus by pharmaceutical company
• Major histocompatibility class I marker and frog resistance to viral infection
• Smallest virion and DNA genome: Circovirus
• Largest virion and DNA genome: Mimivirus
• Biggest RNA genome: (we forgot to mention on the show!) Coronavirus SW1
• List of viral genome lengths at NCBI
• Sputnik virophage
• Papers for Macintosh and iPhone

Science blog of the week: H5N1 by Croft
Science podcast pick of the week: MicrobeWorld video
Science book of the week: Autism’s False Prophets by Paul A. Offit, MD (podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell)

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

Subscribe to TWiV in iTunes, by the RSS feed, or by email.

Host: Vincent Racaniello (Wikipedia entry, and photo with Hilary Koprowski)

Guests: Alan Dove and Angela Rasmussen

Vincent, Alan, and Angela discuss Kuru, prions in milk, ancient lentiviruses found in the chromosomes of lemurs, a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine failure in the 1960s, and recent outbreaks of H5N1 influenza in chickens.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #12 (30.8 MB .mp3,  44 minutes)

Links for this episode:

• Episode transcript (pdf) – Thanks, Gertrude!
• D. Carleton Gajdusek obituary in the NY Times. We forgot to mention that he won the 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on Kuru.
• PLoS Pathogens article on prions in sheep milk.
• PNAS article on endogenous lemur lentivirus
• Nature Medicine article on the failed respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
• December 18 was the 100th anniversary of the discovery of poliovirus.

Science podcast pick of the week: Skepticality.
Science book of the week: Science Fictions: A Scientific Mystery, a Massive Cover-up and the Dark Legacy of Robert Gallo by John Crewdson.

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@twiv.tv. Let us know what you think were the top virology stories of 2008.

Subscribe to TWiV in iTunes or by the RSS feed.