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, ...

At the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, Vincent speaks with Vincent Munster about the work of his laboratory on MERS-coronavirus and Ebolaviruses. You can find this TWiV Special at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiVspecialmunster.mp3"] Click arrow to play Download TWiV Special (34 MB .mp3, 56 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

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 ...