This Week in Virology

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 inf...

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 t...

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 ) K...

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 VP1...

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 hu...

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...

Vincent, Alan, and Hamish Young discuss bacteriophages in viral vaccines, enteroviruses and diabetes, inhibition of Hendra and Nipah virus replication by the malaria drug chloroquine, and viroids. Links for this episode: Bacteriophages in viral vaccines Presence of enteroviral VP1 protein in pancreatic islets of diabetics Chloroquine inhibits Hendra and Nipah virus replication Review on viroids di...

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. Links for this episode: Harold Varmus on The Daily Show Macaque model for HIV-1 infection ( photo of p...

In episode 22 of This Week in Virology , host Vincent Racaniello and guest host Chris Upton , a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria in Vancouver, Canada, converse about hepatitis B in India, AIDS gene therapy with a ribozyme, antibodies that neutralize many influenza virus strains, killing tumors with vaccinia virus, myxoma virus of rabbits, a...

In episode 21 of This Week in Virology , hosts Vincent Racaniello , Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and special guest Max Gottesman , discuss an unusual wasp-virus symbiosis, influenza transmission and absolute humidity, how mosquitoes survive Dengue virus infection, and viruses of bacteria. Links in the episode indlude: Unusual wasp-virus symbiosis Absolute humidity modulates influenza virus transmis...

Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Matt Evans converse about TED, the Wakefield autism controversy, 99 rhinovirus sequences, Marburg in the USA, and hepatitis C virus.

Vincent and Alan discuss cap-snatching by the hantavirus N protein and the influenza virus endonuclease, HIV-1 and Ebola virus antagonism of tetherin, and influenza pneumonia.

Vincent, Dick, and Alan discuss adenovirus type 36 and obesity, new influenza antiviral drugs, viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus of fish, and Ebola virus in pigs and pig farmers in the Phillipines.

Vincent, Dick, and Saul talk about discoveries in virology that have had a major impact on the field. Sem•i•nal (adjective): strongly influencing later developments. Note: There are two HPV vaccines on the market: Gardasil (quadrivalent, types 6, 11, 16, 18) and Cervarix (bivalent, types 16 and 18). Links for this episode: Gates Foundation donates to polio eradication effort. Testing a bivalent or...

Vincent and Jeremy, in Saanen, Switzerland, review the 19th Challenge in Virology meeting, and implications of a new HIV-1 sequence from 1960 for the origin of AIDS. Links for this episode: NY Times article on Offit vaccine book. Nature paper on new 1960 HIV-1 sequence. Massive polio immunization in Pakistan . PLoS paper on T cell responses to HERVs in HIV-1 infection. Science blog of the week : ...

Vincent, Dick, and Alan converse about hantavirus spread by large deer mice, why the 1918 influenza virus replicates in the lower respiratory tract, measles in Europe, and the growing resistance of  influenza virus to antivirals. Links for this episode: MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from CDC. Larger, older deer mice spread hantavirus . Viral RNA polymerase complex promotes optimal gr...

Vincent and Alan discuss a viral upper respiratory tract infection, transmission of H5N1 influenza virus, death of an HIV denialist, and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Links in this episode: PLoS Pathogens paper on transmission of H5N1 influenza virus. Ebola outbreak in DRC reported by ProMedMail . Death of HIV denialist . BioCrowd , a network for bioscientists. Molecu...

Vincent and Alan talk about President-elect Obama’s choices for his science advisors, SARS sensationalism, a new enteric picornavirus, and the top 10 virology stories of 2008. Obama’s science advisors ( Yahoo story ) CDC RSS feed on influenza PNAS paper on a new enteric picornavirus TWiV’s top 10 virology stories of 2008: 1. Nobel Prize in Medicine to Montagnier, Barré-Sinoussi, and zur Hausen 2....

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. Links for this episode: 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 a...

Vincent, Alan, and Jeremy discuss why certain AIDS patients, called ‘elite controllers’ or ‘long-term non-progressors’, do not develop disease, why mosquitoes infected with Sindbis virus remain healthy, and the continuing outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis. Links for this episode: Immunity article on elite controllers. PNAS article on protected mosquitoes. The word quarantine comes from the se...

Vincent, DIck, and Alan chat about reconstruction of a bat SARS-like coronavirus, herpesviruses that are killing elephants in zoos, and a plan to eradicate AIDS in ten years. Links for this episode: The Virology Network at socialmedian.com. The bat SARS-like coronavirus: scientific article in  PNAS, and the Wired Science article . NY Times  Editorial on eradicating AIDS. Herpesviruses killing elep...

Vincent and Dick recall the discovery of Lassa virus in Africa in 1969. A non-fictional account of the story, ‘Fever’, written by John G. Fuller and published in 1974, inspired Vincent to become a virologist. Part of the story took place at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital (now Columbia University Medical Center), where both Vincent and Dick are employed. Dick remembers many of the key players in th...

Vincent and Dick converse about warfare preventing immunization of 120,000 children in Afghanistan, bone marrow transplant curing AIDS patient, Google tracking flu, measles outbreak in Gibraltar, using viruses to make batteries, and small mosquitoes and Dengue. Article on using viruses to make batteries (PubMed: Virus-enabled synthesis and assembly of nanowires for lithium ion battery electrodes)....

Vincent, Dick, and Aidan discuss how viral infections play prominent roles in notable video games. Three games are discussed: World of Warcraft , Pandemic II , and Bioshock . An article on how World of Warcraft became a model for the transmission of virus infections was published in Lancet Infectious Diseases . The title of the article is “The untapped potential of virtual game worlds to shed ligh...

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier Dickson was at Pop! Tech last week. Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon . US Geological Survey Disease Maps . CDC page on Hendra and Nipah viruses . The flying fox (Google image search) . Vincent’s virology course . Vincent’s texbook is Principles of Virology , third edition, ASM Press (available December 2008). Science podcast pick of the week: Brain S...