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This Week in Virology

This Week in Virology

By: Vincent Racaniello
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 TWiV is a podcast about viruses - the kind that make you sick.Vincent Racaniello 2022 Biological Sciences Nature & Ecology Science
Episodes
  • TWiV 1301: Lost in giant virus translation

    TWiV 1301: Lost in giant virus translation
    Mar 1 2026

    TWiV reviews lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus seroprevalence among urban pregnant women and newborns in Philadelphia, and a functional translation initiation complex encoded in the genome of giant viruses that drives synthesis of viral structural proteins.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Angela Mingarelli

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
    • LCMV seroprevalence among pregnant women (Emerg Inf Dis)
    • Giant viruses encode functional vIF4F (Cell)
    • Ribosomal proteins encoded in viral genomes (virology blog)
    • Letters read on TWiV 1301
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
    Weekly Picks

    Angela – "The Song of the Cell" by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
    Kathy – Fitbit for farts (WSJ and 1° article)
    Rich – The Password That Lets Caterpillars Hide in an Ant's Lair
    Vincent – Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

    Listener Pick

    Larry – Get an early start! (primary article)

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    2 hrs and 5 mins
  • TWiV 1300: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    TWiV 1300: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
    Feb 28 2026
    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello discuss several states and the governor of Pennsylvania suing HHS over changes in the childhood vaccination schedule, the vaccine derived type 2 poliovirus outbreak in Pakistan and implications for the global withdrawal of the oral poliovirus vaccine, and the outbreak of Candida, then Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, where to find PEMGARDA, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, when to use steroids for treating influenza, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode States vs RFK Jr and Bhattacharya: changes to the childhood vaccine schedule (Office of the Attorney General, California)Surgeon General Nominee Sidesteps Questions on Vaccines at Senate Hearing (NY Times) Unqualified failure in polio vaccine policy left thousands of kids paralyzed (Science)Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation of Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 2 Outbreak in Pakistan During 2019–2021 (CID)Inactivated Polio Vaccine Must Be an Essential Part of Polio Eradication (CID)Wastewater for Candida auris: Wastewater (WasterWater Scan) Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)Big outbreak, bright lights…Measles Dashboard (South Carolina Department of Public Health) Utah Measles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)Measles (WHO)Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView) OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (xofluza)RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV)) Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP) Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)COVID-19 deaths (CDC)Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)COVID-19 vaccination status during pregnancy and preeclampsia risk: the pandemic-era cohort of the INTERCOVID consortium (eClinical Medicine)Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)Use of corticosteroids in influenza-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome and severe pneumonia: a systemic review and meta-analysis(Scientific Reports)What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org)Daniel Griffin's evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)The answers: Long COVIDReaching out to US house representativeLetters read on TWiV 1300Dr. Griffin's COVID treatment summary (pdf)Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    41 mins
  • TWiV 1299: Moth balls and blood clots

    TWiV 1299: Moth balls and blood clots
    Feb 22 2026

    TWiV explains how vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia develops from antibodies to adenovirus and somatic hypermutation, and castration by a viral protein tyrosine phosphatase that targets a host cell cycle checkpoint protein.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
    • US repeals environmental endangerment finding (Nature)
    • Environmental groups sue EPA (Guardian)
    • NIAID to drop pandemic preparedness and biodefense (Nature)
    • FDA backpedals on Moderna mRNA rejection (npr)
    • Mechanism of VITT (NEJM)
    • Parasitc castration by a wasp virus protein (PNAS)
    • Polydnaviruses (PloS Path)
    • Letters read on TWiV 1299
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
    Weekly Picks

    Brianne – The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
    Rich – The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
    Alan – Recipes from the American South, by Michael Twitty
    Vincent – Why Returning From Mars ls Impossible – Richard Feynman's Warning

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 46 mins
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