When giant viruses were discovered - with genomes much larger than any previously seen - some suggested that they had descended from a fourth domain of life (the current three are bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes). Part of the reason for such a claim was the finding of homologs of bacterial ...

The TWiVome discuss the blood virome of 8,420 humans, and thoroughly geek out on a paper about the number of parental viruses in a plaque. You can find TWiV #435 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 435 (73 MB .mp3, 121 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

The plaque assay - my favorite assay in the world - is a time-honored procedure to determine the number of viruses in a sample, and to establish clonal virus stocks. The  linear relationship between the number of infectious particles and the plaque count (illustrated; image credit) shows that one infectious particle is ...

The esteemed TWiVumvirate reveal the discovery of a new negative stranded RNA virus of wasps that regulates longevity and sex ratio of its parasitoid host. You can find TWiV #434 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 434 (64 MB .mp3, 106 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

If you have ever received a blood transfusion, along with the red blood cells, leukocytes, plasma and other components, you also were infused with a collection of viruses. A recent study of the blood virome of over 8,000 healthy individuals revealed 19 different DNA viruses in 42% of the subjects. Viral ...