Virology
TWiV 975: Crossing the Ts with Daniela Weiskopf
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Daniela joins TWiV to discuss her career and her research on T cells, their role in infection with SARS-CoV-2, T cell epitopes and why a variant that evades T cell immunity is not likely to emerge. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker Guest: Daniela Weiskopf Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 975 (58 MB .mp3, 98 …
When Two Different Viruses Have Offspring
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were infected with two different viruses at the same time? A recent study aimed at addressing this question has produced some astounding new findings. The authors of the study wanted to observe the interactions between respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza A …
TWiV 966: 1918 influenza with Jeffery Taubenberger
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Vincent travels to the NIH campus to speak with Jeffery Taubenberger about his career, the 1918 influenza pandemic, deciphering the genome sequence of the virus from tissues of disease victims and using it to rescue infectious virus.
“Paxlovid Rebound” Is Just COVID Rebound
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey The antiviral drug Paxlovid is highly effective at inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and reducing symptoms associated with COVID-19. Nevertheless, there have recently been numerous reports of recurrence of positive tests and symptoms after completing treatment with Paxlovid, leading some to infer that the drug triggers the recurrence. Is this inference actually correct, …
TWiV 954: Speculating sarbecovirus spillovers with Michael Letko
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Michael Letko joins TWiV to discuss his research on understanding cell receptors required for sarbecovirus entry, including an ACE2-dependent isolate from Russian bats that is resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies.
TWiV 953: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses high demand for Amoxicillin causing shortages amid child RSV surge, epidemiologic and clinical features of children and adolescents aged <18 years with monkeypox, low risk of SARS-Cov-2 transmission by fomites, nucleocapsid antigenemia is a marker of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, impact of community masking on COVID-19, protection against Omicron from vaccination and …
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David Tuller
Trial By Error: More Debate About Treatment of Severe ME/CFS
By David Tuller, DrPH Last month, Jonathan Edwards, an emeritus professor of medicine at University College London and an advocate for patients with ME/CFS, published a statement on a pre-print server about managing the nutritional needs of patients with severe disease. (I wrote about it here.) A few days ago, a group of parents and …
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Trial By Error: New Paper Seeks to Reframe Poor Findings in CODES Trial of CBT for Non-Epileptic Seizures
By David Tuller, DrPH The CODES trial investigated cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a treatment for dissociative seizures (DS), a sub-category of what is now called functional neurological disorder (FND). The intervention was a course of CBT specifically designed to address the variety of factors presumed to be triggering the seizures. (I have previously critiqued …
Trial By Error: Professor Edwards’ Take on Nutrition and Severe ME Cases
By David Tuller, DrPH Jonathan Edwards, a professor emeritus of medicine at University College London, has released a document involving the provision of care for people with severe ME, an issue at the core of some recent high-profile cases in England. The document, which Professor Edwards posted on a pre-print server, is called “Management of …
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Trial By Error: The Conversation Recycles Biopsychosocial Nonsense
By David Tuller, DrPH A new piece in The Conversation shows just how problematic it is when poorly done biopsychosocial studies claim to have documented that cognitive and/or behavioral therapies are effective—and when these questionable findings are published in high-impact journals. The headline of the article: “Success in treating persistent pain now offers hope for …
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Trial By Error: Some Things I Read This Week–Scathing “Effort Preference” Analysis; Kids with Long Covid; National Academies’ Long Covid Definition
By David Tuller, DrPH An in-depth pushback on “effort preference” When the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s long-delayed “deep phenotyping” study of a handful of ME/CFS patients was released earlier this year, the focus on a weird construct called “effort preference” sucked up all the attention–in part because the paper placed it front and center, …
Trial By Error: Athlete Oonagh Cousins on the Lightning Process
By David Tuller, DrPH Oonagh Cousins, a world-class rower who once dreamed of representing Great Britain in the Olympics, got sick early in the pandemic and has been suffering from Long Covid ever since. Her story was first covered by the BBC in November, 2020. A BBC article last year covered how her condition had …
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