The TWiVers discuss the declining readability of scientific texts, and review the use of self-inactivating rabies virus for tracing neural circuits. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 461 (79 MB .mp3, 127 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
Vincent travels to the University of Pennsylvania and speaks with virologists Gary Cohen, Scott Hensley, Carolina Lopez, and Susan Weiss about their careers and their research. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 460 (56 MB .mp3, 93 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
The scientists I know realize that they use jargon, both in their writing and in their seminars – but they can’t seem to stop. There is a very good reason to stop using jargon – it has likely lead to a decrease in the readability of scientific texts for the past 100 years (link to …
Scientific jargon and readability: What is your r-index? Read More »
The TWiV team reviews the first FDA approved gene therapy, accidental exposure to poliovirus type 2 in a manufacturing plant, and production of a candidate poliovirus vaccine in plants. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 459 (63 MB .mp3, 105 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first gene therapy, Kymriah, to treat B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It uses a lentivirus to modify the patient’s T cells to kill tumor cells. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is caused by uncontrolled growth of B cells, which normally produce antibodies to fight off infections. It …
The TWiVians present an imported case of yellow fever in New York City, and explain how a dengue virus subgenomic RNA disrupts immunity in mosquito salivary glands to increase virus replication. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 458 (72 MB .mp3, 119 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv.
