On my recent trip to record TWiV #111 at Florida Gulf Coast University, I visited Rich Condit in Gainesville. There he told me a story about how the bacteriophage T7 polymerase/promoter system was developed. It's an interesting tale that demonstrates how important scientific advances often have convoluted roots. You can ...

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Alan Rein On episode #113 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss the retrovirus XMRV with retrovirologist Alan Rein of the National Cancer Institute. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV113.mp3"] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #113 (55 MB ...

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune published my reaction to the four papers on the retrovirus XMRV published this week in the journal Retrovirology. I was quoted as saying "These four papers are probably the beginning of the end of XMRV and CFS". I wish to retract this statement and explain my reasons for ...

Since the first observations that the human retrovirus XMRV is associated with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), new studies have been carried out to determine the role of the virus in these diseases. The results have been conflicting: XMRV (and related retroviruses) have been found in some patients, but not ...

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit On episode #112 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich review the making of a virulent poxvirus by insertion of the gene encoding IL-4, and severe 2009 H1N1 influenza due to pathogenic immune complexes. [powerpress url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV112.mp3"] Click the arrow above ...