Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Philip Kranzusch, David Knipe, and Priscilla Yang

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 Keynote Speaker at the Harvard Virology retreat is usually an individual, but this year the honor went to TWiV as an example of science communication to the public. Many thanks to members of the Virology Program for a terrific retreat!

Artwork by Silvia Piccinotti, G4

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV 148 (56 MB .mp3, 77 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:

• Virology at Harvard
• Harvard Virology Retreat 2011 Program (pdf)
• Science in the News
• Lincoln Laboratory, MIT
• Top 10 causes of death (WHO)
• Top 10 infectious disease deaths (Baylor)
• TWiV on Facebook
• Letters read on TWiV 148
• Video of this episode: view below or download (228 MB .mp4)

Weekly Science Picks

Philip – AntWeb
David – Herpes-like viruses in corals (PNAS and LiveScience)
Priscilla – Science museums (Boston, Durham)
Vincent – Contagion

Listener Pick of the Week

Jenny – Emerman’s review of Planet of Viruses (PLoS Biology)

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, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

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.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #105 (66 MB .mp3, 92 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:

• Eradication of rinderpest
• Rinderpest in the Merck Veterinary Manual
• Rinderpest summary (pdf)
• Manual on the preparation of rinderpest contingency plans
• Walter Plowright obituary
• The Plowright vaccine
• Measles evolution from rinderpest
• Endogenous hepadnaviruses in the genome of the zebra finch (PLoS One)
• Receptor for an extinct retrovirus (PNAS)
• Vertical farm: NPR post and YouTube video
• Letters read on TWiV 105

Weekly Science Picks

Dickson – Winged Migration
Alan – Web-accessible shortwave receivers
Rich – Personal Genome Project
Vincent – XVIVO scientific animation

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, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Michael Bouchard

Vincent, Alan, and Rich speak with Michael Bouchard about hepatitis B virus discovery, replication, and pathogenesis.

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 #80 (58 MB .mp3, 80 minutes)

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

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

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 and Dickson Despommier

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.

This episode is sponsored by Data Robotics Inc. To receive $50 off a Drobo or $100 off a Drobo S, visit drobostore.com and use the promotion code VINCENT.

Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #66 (50 MB .mp3, 68 minutes)

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

Links for this episode:

• Discovery of RNA tumor viruses
• Reverse transcriptase found by Temin and Baltimore (pdfs)
• Figures for this episode
• Video of this episode – download .mp4 or .wmv or view below

Weekly Science Picks
Vincent Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS

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.