Volatile organic compounds that are emitted by plants – which play important roles in attracting insects – can be altered by virus infection. Infection by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) increases the emissions that attract aphids, but the virus-altered plant juices are not so tasty, so the insect quickly leaves to spread virus to other plants (listen to …
On this episode of Virus Watch we cover three Zika virus stories: the first human trial of a Zika virus vaccine, the first local transmission of infection in the United States, and whether the virus is a threat to participants in the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Zika virus spreads in the USA, a Zika virus DNA vaccine goes into phase I trials, and how mosquito bites enhance virus replication and disease, from the friendly TWiFolk Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Kathy. You can find TWiV #401 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV401.mp3″] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 401 (86 MB .mp3, 119 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email …
The TWiV team is together in New York City for a conversation with Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus about his remarkable career in science. You can find TWiV #400 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen/watch below. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV400.mp3″] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 400 (101 MB .mp3, 139 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
Flaviviruses are unusual because antibodies that cross-react with different viruses can enhance infection and disease. This property, called antibody-dependent enhancement or ADE, has been documented to occur among the four serotypes of dengue virus. It has implications for infection with or vaccination against Zika virus or dengue virus. Earlier this year (virology blog link) it was …
The first experimental Zika virus vaccine has been published, and in this episode of Virus Watch, I explain how it works – it’s a DNA vaccine – and I compare it with all the other vaccines out there.
