On episode #359 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent speaks with Blossom about her laboratory's research on Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, including how it transforms cells, the switch between lytic and latent replication, and its interaction with the innate immune system of the host. You can find TWiV #359 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

On episode #358 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent meets up with Ileana at Princeton University to talk about how her laboratory integrates molecular virology, mass spectrometry-based proteomics, and bioinformatics to unravel the interplay between virus and host. You can find TWiV #358 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

Here is a follow-up to last week's article that described a case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in a Texas resident caused by ingestion of BSE-contaminated beef 14 years ago. A 59 year old male patient was admitted to the trauma unit in Lancaster, PA with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. There was substantial ...

On episode #357 of the science show This Week in Virology, Jens Kuhn joins the TWiVomics to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of viral taxonomy, including its history and evolution, how viruses are ordered, and why T. rex was classified without having a living isolate. You can find TWiV #357 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

Spongiform encephalopathies are neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolding of normal cellular prion proteins. A 2014 case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob prion disease in the United States was probably caused by eating beef from animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Human spongiform encephalopathies are placed into three groups: infectious, familial or genetic, and sporadic, ...