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 ...

Last week, Virology Blog posted an open letter to the editors of Psychological Medicine. The letter called on them to retract the misleading findings that participants in the PACE trial for ME/CFS had recovered from cognitive behavior therapy and graded exercise therapy. More than 100 scientists, clinicians, other experts and ...

The lovely TWiV team explore evolution of our fecal virome, and the antiviral RNA interference response in the nematode C. elegans. You can find TWiV #433 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 433 (65 MB .mp3, 107 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!