RNA viruses exist close to their error threshold, the point beyond which additional mutations cause loss of infectivity. It has been suggested that RNA recombination prevents viruses from exceeding the error threshold - a situation called error catastrophe - but there has been little experimental support for this hypothesis. An ...

The complete TWiV team give a report on the Ebola virus outbreak in DRC, and reveal that cell surface nectin proteins cause the transfer of cytoplasmic cargo, including measles virus, between cells. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 559 (65 MB .mp3, 108 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!

by Gertrud U. Rey Type 1 diabetes is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that is characterized by the loss of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The loss of these cells leads to decreased insulin production (hypoinsulinemia) and increased levels of glucose in the blood (hyperglycemia). While it is still unclear ...

From ASV 2019 at the University of Minnesota, TWiV explores the origins of the American Society for Virology with Sid Grossberg and Pat Spear. https://youtu.be/vsYjrDmcrSc Click arrow to play Download TWiV 558 (37 MB .mp3, 61 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv

Most contemporary virologists use the term replication to indicate either the production of new virus particles or viral genomes. Because these are very different processes, during the preparation of the fourth edition of the textbook Principles of Virology, the authors decided to use the word reproduction to designate the production ...