I started my first podcast, This Week in Virology, in September 2008, together with Dickson Despommier, father of the Vertical Farm. Although I viewed the creation of a science podcast as an experiment, I was surprised when people began to listen. Since then I have created five other podcasts, scattered at different websites. Now you can find all of them at MicrobeTV. MicrobeTV is …
To a molecular biologist, the word ‘evolution’ evokes images of fossils, dusty rocks, and phylogenetic trees covering eons. The fields of molecular biology and evolutionary biology diverged during the twentieth century, but new experimental technologies have lead to a fusion of the two disciplines. The result is that evolutionary biologists have the unprecedented ability to evaluate how genetic change produces novel …
On episode #367 of the science show This Week in Virology, two Coynes join the TWiV overlords to explain their three-dimensional cell culture model of polarized intestinal for studying enterovirus infection. You can find TWiV #367 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
The acquisition of a capsid is thought to be a key event in the evolution of viruses from the self-replicating genetic elements that existed during the pre-cellular stage on Earth. The origin of viral capsids has been obscure because their components are not similar to cellular proteins. The discovery that a viral capsid protein evolved from …
Exaptation: A cell enzyme becomes a viral capsid protein Read More »
On episode #365 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Kathy trace the feud over genome editing, a new virus discovered in human blood, and the origins of hepatitis A virus. You can find TWiV #365 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
The high mutation rate of RNA viruses enables them to evolve in the face of different selection pressures, such as entering a new host or countering host defenses. It has always been thought that the sources of such mutations are the enzymes that copy viral RNA genomes: they make random errors which they cannot correct. Now …
A huge host contribution to virus mutation rates Read More »
