The TWiVoids discuss the March for Science, the GOF moratorium, and a classic virology paper on mapping the gene order for vesicular stomatitis virus. You can find TWiV #427 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV427.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 427 (59 MB .mp3, 98 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

Bacteria do not develop transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, but they have been found to produce prions - proteins that can adopt alternative conformations with different functions. Prion diseases, a frequent topic on this blog, are caused by misfolding of a normal cellular prion protein (illustrated; image copyright ASM Press). Prion proteins are found in other ...

The sages of TWiV explain how chronic wasting disease of cervids could be caused by spontaneous misfolding of prion protein, and the role of the membrane protein Axl in Zika virus entry into cells. You can find TWiV #426 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV426.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 426 (66 ...

You might recall learning in high school biology that bacteriophage infection of a host can lead to either replication and cell lysis, or integration of the viral genome into the host (illustrated). The latter event, called lysogeny, spares the host from virus induced killing. For some phages, the decision between lysis and ...

The TWiVaniellos discuss a thermostable poliovirus empty capsid vaccine, and two cell genes that act as a switch between entry and clearance of picornavirus infection. You can find TWiV #425 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV425.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV 425 (65 MB .mp3, 107 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!