Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are rare, but always fatal, neurodegenerative disorders of humans and other mammals. They are characterized by long incubation periods, spongiform changes in the brain associated with loss of neurons, and the absence of host responses. TSEs are caused by infectious proteins called prions. Insight into how prions cause TSEs ...

https://youtu.be/M8w-bNqJ5pY Vincent meets with members of team ZEST at the University of Wisconsin Madison to discuss their macaque model for Zika virus pathogenesis. You can find TWiV #429 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen/watch right here. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV429.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 429 (48 MB .mp3, 78 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

A study of sexual transmission of Zika virus among mice (link to paper) demonstrates beautifully that viral nucleic acid detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is not the same as infectious virus. Male mice were infected with Zika virus and then mated with female mice. Efficient sexual transmission of the virus from males ...

The TWiVsters explain how superspreader bacteriophages release intact DNA from infected cells, and the role of astrocytes in protecting the cerebellum from virus infection. You can find TWiV #428 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV428.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 428 (65 MB .mp3, 108 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. There are 1031 of them on the planet, and they infect 1023 to 1025 bacteria every second. That's a lot of lysis, and it leads to the release of huge quantities of DNA that can be taken up by other organisms, ...